Twisted
by Zilo Sugarpill
Summary: Edward disappears without a trace, and no one knows where he could be. When he finally reappears, he's changed drastically. Now he's on a rampage against the military. But what, or who, caused this? And can he be saved?
1. Missing

**Warning! **T for violence, blood, language, disturbing junk, and other T-like stuff...yeah...  
**Written By: **Zilo and Chizi  
**Beta: **Maruka Gomez

* * *

Zilo: Okay, okay, so we have this policy about stereotypical story ideas--  
Chizi: And this whole thing started out as a dare. "Write a story and use up as many cliché FMA plots as possible."  
Zilo: So we snatched up some parental Roy and Ed--  
Chizi: Threw in a spin on the Pride!Ed deal--  
Zilo: Added a hint of EdxWin, I think--  
Chizi: And, along with other junk, produced this mess!  
Zilo: Between us two, we own a terrible replica of the Ourobourus mark (however you might spell that), a green wig, a silver pocket watch bought off of eBay, a terrible heap of creative license which gives us an excuse to screw the original storyline--  
Chizi: But no FMA. What a shame!

* * *

1: Missing

It was a bright, clear day, and it promised to be another boring one. It had been a solid three months since Full Metal Alchemist Edward Elric had turned up another lead on the Philosopher's Stone, and he was tired. More importantly, he was quite irritable. Alphonse was probably the only person who hadn't recently been snapped at.

As he flipped yet another book closed and picked up one of the last ones he hadn't read, Edward realized his head hurt. He rubbed his temples with a sigh as he opened the book. He'd been immersed in research at the national library for the better part of seven hours, and Alphonse kept pleading with him to take a break and eat or drink something. Ed didn't want to take a break until he had made _some _kind of headway, but as the time passed and his headache got worse, he realized he just might need to.

With a sigh, Edward pushed back his chair and stood. He was surprised that he was unsteady when he got to his feet, and realized he must be more tired than he thought. A knock at the door of the private room he was in drew his attention. It was too soft a knock to be Alphonse. "Come in," he said, shoving his chair underneath the desk.

The door opened, and an unfamiliar girl stepped in. She had short black hair and brown eyes, and she was dressed in a military uniform. A cup was in her hand. "Um, Mister Elric, sir, your brother Alphonse sent me to give you this and tell you to 'take a breather'," she said nervously, her eyes not meeting his.

Edward smiled tiredly. His brother, the worrywart. He accepted the cup from the girl. "Thanks," he said. It smelled like coffee, and he took a sip.

The girl nodded and bowed out of the room like her hair was on fire. Ed pulled his chair back out and sat down. He finished the hot coffee in less than two minutes, and appreciated the boost. "Now to get back to work," he said, picking up a book.

Al's words came back to his mind, and Edward stared unseeingly at the page before sighing and leaning back. He knew his brother wasn't trying to do anything but make sure he didn't overwork himself again. The last time Edward had logged insane amounts of time researching, he'd worked himself into a fever and had spent five days on bedrest. After that, Alphonse had been making sure he didn't overdo it. But that had been six months ago, and his brother's intense overprotectiveness had slipped a bit, allowing Edward to get back into the habit of burning the candle at both ends.

Edward stared moodily into his empty mug. On the one hand, he wanted to keep going. He knew a lead on the Philosopher's Stone wouldn't find itself. But on the other hand, he didn't want his brother to worry. He sighed and pushed his chair back again. "Fine. I'll take a quick break."

He stood, and nearly fell over. He was dizzy, very dizzy. Edward put a hand to his head as he steadied himself with a hand on the desk. But the room still seemed to be spinning. "What the hell?" he said, trying to keep himself balanced and upright. He took a step forward and crashed down like a ton of bricks. His arm hit the coffee mug on the desk and sent it spinning to the floor beside his head.

The door opened again, and Edward, now in such a state of extreme dizziness that he was having a hard time rising, looked up to see the girl who had come in moments ago. "Are you all right?" she asked in alarm, coming over to him.

"I don't know," Edward ground out, closing his eyes to try and block out the confusion. "I tried to get up, and..."

"Poor thing," the girl said. There was something in her voice that made him open his eyes again, and he saw that she was now squatting down next to him, a satisfied sneer replacing the concerned look. "Something wrong with your coffee?"

A realization dawned on Edward as he lay helplessly on the floor. "Envy," he spat. "What..." He tried to say, "what did you do?" but his mouth wasn't working. His arms and legs weren't responding.

But he was right. The girl's form morphed into Envy, and he looked very pleased with himself. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to use drugs?" he taunted.

_I've been drugged. That bastard did something to the coffee,_ Edward realized. He tried to demand of Envy what he wanted, but his body wasn't following his orders anymore. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, and the whirling room wasn't doing anything for his stomach. But he had to stay alert. He couldn't let his guard down with that Homunculus here. 

"You look really tired, pipsqueak," Envy went on. "Why don't you take a nap?"

Edward couldn't even muster up enough anger to vent at Envy for the short comment, and to his horror, a nap sounded like a great idea. His body was already starting to shut down. _No! I've gotta stay awake! _He thought of pretending to fall asleep, but he feared if he dared close his eyes, he really would.

Envy's image was getting blurry. Edward's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. _Damn it...don't fall asleep..._ His brain only seemed to latch onto the "fall asleep" part, for his eyelids dropped without his permission. Now that he had assumed the complete position of someone about to conk out, he knew it was a losing battle. He managed to fight it off long enough to feel Envy pick him up and sling him over a shoulder before he finally lost the fight and succumbed to the darkness.

Help...

* * *

Three hours later...

Alphonse Elric knocked on the door. "Brother? Are you in there?" When he didn't get a response, he guessed that his older brother had fallen asleep over a book and opened the door.

The desk was still covered in books, and the chair had been pushed up underneath. Edward wasn't in the room. Alphonse looked around, as if he were hiding, though there really was nothing to hide behind. "Brother?"

"Are you looking for Mister Elric?"

Alphonse turned and saw a girl with dark hair and eyes wearing a military uniform. "He said to tell you he was going to take your advice and stepped out for some air," she said.

"Oh," Alphonse said, sighing with relief. "Did he say he would be back?"

The girl shook her head. "He'll probably be back soon, though. It's been about ten minutes. No worries, Mr. Elric." She saluted and wandered off.

Alphonse moved into the room and sat down in Edward's chair. He was relieved that his brother had taken his advice. Edward was one of the types who didn't give up until he had good news. He neglected just about every need except bathroom breaks, especially if he didn't have a lead. For once, though, he seemed to get the fact that he wasn't a machine, and needed to take care of himself. Alphonse would tell Edward how proud he was that he took the sound advice.

"Good job, Brother," Alphonse said aloud, waiting for his brother's return.

* * *

Alphonse hadn't really realized how long it had been until an aide came into the room to inform him the library would be closing soon. The library closed at ten. It had been five hours since he had come in! The sun was down now! 

He hurriedly thanked the aide, and then asked him about the girl who had told him Ed had left. The aide looked confused, and he gave him a better description. "She's about Brother's height and weight, looks maybe 14, with short black hair and brown eyes, wearing a military uniform."

"Um...I'm sorry, sir, but I've been here the past couple of years, and I'm pretty sure we don't have anyone who fits that description working here," the aide told him.

Alphonse felt nervous. "Okay. Thank you." He made his way out of the room. When he reached the exit to the library, he saw indeed that it was now night time. A thought came to him, and he approached the front desk. "Excuse me, you know who I am, right?"

The aide looked up at him and smiled. "Certainly. You're Alphonse Elric, Edward Elric's younger brother."

Alphonse nodded. "Did you see my brother leave?"

"Leave?" She considered. "No, I don't believe so. And I'm pretty sure I would have noticed. I thought he was still in the private room in the back."

"So did I," Alphonse said to himself. "Okay, thank you very much." He walked through the doors and came to a stop.

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross saluted him. "Mr. Elric, Colonel Mustang needs to meet with your brother," she said.

"Before you ask, I don't know where he is right now," Alphonse told her.

"You don't?" Maria looked surprised. "Where was he last?"

"I think he stepped outside to take a break from research, at least that's what I was told," Alphonse said. "But that was five hours ago, and when I asked about the girl who told me, they said they didn't have anyone who fit her description working here. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I think something may have happened to Brother."

Maria nodded, now focused on a different goal. "Come back with me to Headquarters. We'll inform Colonel Mustang."

* * *

In the colonel's office...

Colonel Roy Mustang remained silent as Alphonse recounted what had happened at the library. He was in his thinking position, elbows on the desk, mouth hidden behind intertwined fingers. Beside him, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye listened to the account as well.

"And you say when you asked about the girl who gave you this information, you were summarily told she didn't exist?" Roy asked at the end.

Alphonse nodded. Even as a suit of armor, he could still somehow radiate worry. "The aide told me that he didn't know of anyone working there that looked like her."

"I see," Roy said. "Edward may be irresponsible at times, but this is out of character for him. We'd better not waste any time, in case something _has_ happened to him. We'll start an investigation immediately." He frowned contemplatively. "This mystery girl you saw, where did she go after telling you that your brother had left?"

"I think she went up to the second floor," Alphonse said.

Roy leaned back in his chair. "Then our first order of business is to question the employees of the library and see if any of them saw her. Alphonse, you'll need to give Lieutenant Hawkeye your best description of this girl. Lieutenant, you head up the investigation. And have officers on the lookout for Edward, in case he was just absent-minded enough to wander off without telling someone and got lost."

"Yes sir," Alphonse and Riza said in unison.

What Roy didn't tell them, however, was that he was almost certain that Edward had met with foul play. Edward had been researching the Philosopher's Stone, and he would never have taken more than a few minutes for a break. He was too focused on getting a lead. Plus, he wasn't a big enough idiot to get lost in Central. But Roy wasn't going to needlessly worry Alphonse.

At least not yet.

* * *

Jennifer Lewis yawned widely as she checked the last private study. It had been a long night. Helping keep such a big library in order was no simple task, and it took most of her energy every day. But she still loved the job and wouldn't trade it for any other. 

She approached the front desk just as several military officers did. Curious, and naturally nosy, she hung around, pretending to straighten a shelf of books. One of the men was telling the aide at the front desk that they were conducting an investigation. Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist, was currently missing, and had last been seen here by a girl with this description, and have you seen her?

Jennifer listened intently, her charade forgotten, as the man rolled off a description. Short, close-cut dark hair, brown eyes, around the same size as the Full Metal Alchemist himself. She realized why that description sounded familiar. She had seen the girl! And in fact...

_But no,_ Jennifer thought, turning to finish her room check. _I can't tell them what I saw. They'd think I was a loony, or trying to get attention. _When she had been in one of the upstairs studies about two hours ago, she had looked out the window, admiring the scenery. Movement below had caught her eye, and she had looked down to see the girl entering an alley. The girl, however, somehow changed herself into what looked like a young, long-haired woman dressed very loosely. The woman then jumped out of the alley with an agility Jennifer had never seen in her life, and left the area, traveling over the roofs of buildings. She had gone so quickly that Jennifer knew she would have caught it if she hadn't looked before the woman leapt.

_Well, that's probably the weirdest thing I've ever seen,_ Jennifer thought, _but nobody would believe me. I don't even know if _I _believe me. I'd better just keep it to myself, and if they ask I'll tell them I never saw the stupid girl._

* * *

All the employees working at the time that Edward disappeared were contacted and questioned. Then the managers and supervisors were questioned about the girl. It soon became clear that whoever this girl was, she didn't work in the library, but a couple of the employees had seen her. One saw her go into the room where Edward had been, with a cup of some steaming liquid. The cup wasn't turned up, but there was a stain on the floor that turned out to be coffee. 

Another employee saw her when she was speaking to Alphonse. They confirmed that she had gone upstairs, but no one who had been upstairs at that time had seen her.

By day three, Edward was officially missing, and a formal investigation was ensued. People on the streets at the time Edward supposedly stepped out were tracked down and questioned, but no one had seen him. That corroborated the general statement from the library workers that no one had seen him leave the library.

Alphonse was beside himself with worry. Maria did her best to help him feel better, but he insisted on helping, saying that that would be the only thing that could help. As he kept saying over and over, "there's no way Brother just disappeared. Someone had to take him somewhere at some point, and _some_body had to see it." He kept going back to the library, making the rounds and asking employees for anything that might help.

"Anything at all might help," Al said earnestly to the desk clerk of the sixth day of Edward's disappearance. "Even the most trivial."

The clerk shrugged, giving him a sad smile. "I think we've all racked our brains answering the questions in the interrogations. You're welcome to ask any of our employees, of course, but I don't know if anything new will come up."

Al sighed. "All right, thank you, ma'am," he said. Dejected, he turned to leave.

_How will I ever find Brother?_ he thought as he started down the steps. He mentally ran down the list of suspects. Scar wouldn't have kidnapped Edward; he'd only explode the young alchemist's brain and leave him in some alley. The Homunculi had no need to kidnap him; they just wanted him to make the Philosopher's Stone for them. Then did that mean there was some _new _enemy who was after his brother? The thought would have made him shudder, had he had real shoulders. 

"Excuse me?"

Al turned to see that a young woman had come after him. She had long red hair pulled into a bun, and gray eyes behind glasses. She was dressed conservatively and held some books to her chest, showing that she worked in the library. "Um...you don't know me, but I'm Jennifer. Jennifer Lewis. I want to talk to you about that mystery girl."

"You saw her?" Al asked, his spirits lifting.

The girl looked hesitant. "I think I did, but--well, it's a really long story, and you might not believe me."

"Please, tell me," Al pleaded. "Anything could help."

Well..." Jennifer's eyes darted around behind her glasses, then settled on Al's face. "On the day your brother disappeared, about eight o'clock, I was upstairs straightening up one of the studies. I looked out the window, and I saw a girl that fits the description going into an alley."

Al nodded as a prompt, seeing that she was hesitating again.

"You see..." she sighed. "I _know_ this is going to sound crazy, but I swear I saw her completely change form."

"Change form?" Al gasped. "Change to what?"

"It looked like she changed into a young woman, a rather scantily-clad one, I might add..." She bit her lip. "Then she jumped up to the roof and started jumping from roof to roof with this incredible speed and agility that's beyond belief. If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it."

Al felt excitement. Finally! A break! "Please, Miss Lewis, you have to come to Headquarters and tell Colonel Mustang what you told me," he said.

Jennifer blinked. "You mean--you _believe_ me?"

"Yes!" Al exclaimed. "It wasn't a woman you saw. It was a man, and my brother and I have run into him before. Please, come and tell the colonel--he'll believe you too!"

* * *

"I don't believe this," Colonel Mustang spat. 

Jennifer exchanged a nervous glance with Alphonse. "You were questioned before with the other employees," Riza Hawkeye put in. "Why didn't you come forward with this information?"

"I didn't think anyone would believe me," Jennifer said, earnestly opening her hands in her lap.

"Well, by deciding that on our own, you took the option out of our hands," Riza lectured sternly. "Because of this, we may lose valuable time. It could already be too late for Edward Elric."

Jennifer looked down into her lap. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

"Very well. The both of you are dismissed." Jennifer and Alphonse got up and left. Roy waited until they had closed the door behind them to look over at Riza. "If the Homunculi are involved in Edward's disappearance, this could be even more serious than we thought."

Riza nodded solemnly. "I only hope he's still alive."

"So do I," Roy sighed.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Elric," Jennifer said earnestly as they exited Headquarters. 

"It's not your fault, Miss Lewis," Alphonse immediately responded. "You had no way of knowing we'd believe you."

"Yes, but I should've risked sounding like an idiot if it helped find your brother faster," Jennifer sighed. "Listen, I hope this isn't coming too late, but if there's ever any way I can help, please let me know. I'm at the library almost every day, so you can stop by anytime."

"Sure," Alphonse agreed. She smiled briefly at him, then turned and started home.

Alphonse watched her go, then looked up at the sky. The "woman" that Jennifer had described was Envy, he knew without a doubt. The question was, why would Envy want to kidnap Edward? What use could he have like that? Alphonse worried that it might not be about the Stone at all. But then, what _was _it about?

"Alphonse Elric?" Alphonse turned to see a woman. "There's a call for you from Risembool."

* * *

Two weeks had now passed since Edward's disappearance, or kidnapping as it was now being called, and there had not been a single lead. Even knowing that Envy was most likely the one who had taken Edward away in the first place did them little good, since it would be a snap for him to disguise himself. He could have even been infiltrating Headquarters itself, ensuring they didn't get too much headway. 

Officers were scouring the city for clues. They put up posters with pictures of Edward, asking people to come forward with any information about his disappearance. People at the train station were regularly questioned, as the military tried to figure out if Edward had been taken out of the city.

But nothing had turned up.

Several people had claimed to see him, but when the leads were followed, they turned out to be dead ends. Key witnesses were often called back in to retell their story, in case a vital clue was remembered in the rehashing. Above all, the timeline put together from witness statements was gone over again and again, searching for anything they had missed.

Roy sat at his desk, staring unseeingly at some paperwork. If this had been a normal day, he would be staring unseeingly at it with Riza hovering dangerously near him, making sure he finished it. Sometimes Edward would throw open the door and walk in like he owned the place, bringing a report from his latest journey to track down leads on the Philosopher's Stone. But Riza was out in the city, helping with the search and investigation. And Edward had vanished into thin air.

With a sigh, Roy looked up at his door. _What I wouldn't give for that loudmouth to come barging in here, _he thought. He considered. The last time he had spoken to Edward, he had mercilessly teased the 16-year-old about his height. Edward had nearly demolished the office trying to get a piece of his superior, and Alphonse barely managed to hold him back. Roy sorely hoped that that wouldn't be Edward's last memory of him.

The door suddenly opened, and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye came in. Roy looked up at her, surprised. "Back so soon? I wasn't expecting you for another hour," he said.

"I don't think you were expecting me at all, _Colonel_," she replied. Something in the way she said his title caused him to stand up, and his hand reached for the pockets were his spark gloves were kept.

"You're not the First Lieutenant, are you," he stated.

Riza smirked. "You'd be right." In a matter of seconds, she had morphed into another.

"Let me guess. Envy," Roy said darkly, glaring at the sneering young man before him. "What have you done with Edward?"

"The pipsqueak?" Envy smirked, leaning against the door and lazily crossing his arms. "He's alive, for now."

"What do you want with him?" Roy demanded.

Envy morphed again, this time into Edward. Roy started, then glared at him. "Let's just say there's a few things you need to do if you want to see me alive again," Envy said in Edward's voice, looking very pleased with himself.

"Like?" Roy ground out.

"Turn over all my research on the Philosopher's Stone," Envy said, still playing Edward. "If you don't know where it is, ask my brother. I tell him everything. And get rid of the people on this list." He tossed a balled-up sheet of paper at Roy's head, and Roy caught it.

"'Get rid of'?" Roy repeated, eyes narrowing.

Envy as Edward smirked, sending a chill down Roy's spine. "I think you know what I mean, Colonel. If it makes you feel so bad, say they committed some heinous crime and execute them for it. Either way, do it or I'm not going to be coming back."

Roy slammed his palms down on the table. "I do _not_ negotiate with criminals," he growled.

"Not even for me?" Envy said. His face suddenly changed to that of Edward's in a sad, unguarded moment. "I thought you cared about me, Colonel," he said sadly.

"Stop that right now!" Roy snapped, not wanting to admit that it was affecting him to look at what looked and sounded just like a very hurt Edward Elric.

Envy smirked and resumed his original form. "What's the matter? Am I getting to you?"

Roy tossed the paper back at Envy. "What, you won't even look?" Envy said as he caught the ball of paper. He shrugged. "All right, then. Have it your way. This offer isn't coming back." His face spread into a sneering grin. "And neither will the pipsqueak." In one smooth motion he opened the door, stepped backwards, and slammed it closed in front of him.

"Stop!" Roy jumped up and ran for the door, throwing it open. "Tell me where Edward--"

Envy was gone. A few milling officers hurried up, asking if everything was all right. They, of course, didn't understand the glare Roy gave each and every one of them, but the truth was, he was trying to figure if one of them was Envy.

Of course, unfortunately, he couldn't tell.

Roy clenched his fists. _Edward._

* * *

Chizi: And there's the first chapter!  
Zilo: Man, we're kinda evil.  
Chizi: Yep. (nod)  
Zilo: Anyway, please review! We love hearing from people! 


	2. The Lost Days

Chizi: Thank you for returning!  
Zilo: Yes! Such a great response!  
Chizi: You nice people deserve a reward! Here's Chapter Two!

**

* * *

2: The Lost Days**

Winry Rockbell made sure that it was clear before stepping off into the station. It was slightly crowded, and people ran to greet family members and friends. People were laughing and talking, their lives just fine. None of them were worrying about the safety of a childhood friend.

From what Alphonse had told her, Edward had now been missing for a month. She scanned the station until the familiar suit of armor jumped out at her. "Alphonse!" she called, waving her arm as she made her way to him.

Alphonse turned just as she reached him. "Winry, hi," he said.

His sad voice made Winry want to cry, but she bravely put up a smile for him. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"All right, I guess," Alphonse replied.

Winry put a hand on his arm, even though she knew he couldn't feel it. He seemed to appreciate the gesture. "Have there been any leads?" she asked.

"Not for a while. I think they're starting to believe he's dead, already." There was a tremor in Al's voice as he said it.

"No way!" Winry said fiercely. "We both know that Edward is stronger than that. He's alive, Al, and there's no doubt in my mind about that."

Alphonse nodded. "You're right," he said. "I just can't help but wonder where he's been all this time, if he's all right, if there's any way he can contact us."

**

* * *

**

**One month earlier...**

Edward groaned lightly as he slowly returned to consciousness. His head felt like someone had used it for batting practice, and a point on his neck stung. He was lying on something cold and hard, and there was a strange pressure on his left wrist and hand. _What happened...? _He struggled to make his foggy brain focus. Where had he been before he fell asleep?

It came back in bits and pieces, but he slowly remembered. _I was in the library, studying...that girl came in with coffee...the coffee was drugged...the girl was Envy...and...Envy! _Edward sat up quickly and opened his eyes. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he shook his head to clear it. He blinked a couple of times, and his vision cleared. What he saw made him want to close his eyes again.

He was in a small room, whose floor, walls, and ceiling were made entirely of solid steel, with only a hanging lightbulb to light it. His red coat had been removed, and his wrists were in a wooden shackle. A second block of wood encased his hands, completely immobilizing and rendering them useless. A steel shackle was wrapped around his right upper arm, and it was connected by heavy chain links to its base on the wall.

But all of this wasn't the worst part. Written in jagged letters of black ink all over the walls and floor were some of the worst sentences Edward had ever laid eyes on, all about people he knew. Some of the better ones read such things as _Roy Mustang is using me _and _Riza Hawkeye thinks I'm annoying and irresponsible_. Edward scanned the sentences, wanting to tear his eyes away but, in a strange, horrible fascination, unable to. _Who the hell wrote these awful things? _he thought. Then a particular sentence caught his eye.

Al hates me for what I did to him.

Edward forced himself to shut his eyes. What _was _this? Who wrote it? And what was the point? All of it was untrue. But it was still unsettling, and he needed to get out of here. He held his restraints up in front of his face and opened his eyes, making sure he focused only on the restraints and not the numerous slurs written on the wall.

The fact that both his hands were encased in a block of wood meant his captors had taken all precautions against him using alchemy to get away. Even if he was somehow able to engrave a circle somewhere, he wouldn't be able to activate it. Plus his brain was still a little foggy, so he wasn't up to one hundred percent of his thinking ability. He experimentally pulled on the chain holding his steel shackle to the wall. There was a good length of it, but not enough to reach the door across from him, the only exit to the room.

_But there's got to be some way out,_ Edward thought, letting his hands settle on the ground. _I just have to find it._

A movement caught Edward's eye, and he looked up to see the door soundlessly opening. He tensed as it swung inwards, revealing solid darkness. A figure stepped in from the darkness into the dimness of the steel room, and Edward glared as he stood up to face his kidnapper.

"Up already, Full Metal Pipsqueak?" Envy taunted.

"You bastard!" Edward yelled, anger building up in him. "Why did you bring me here? Answer me!!"

"Oh, quit being so dramatic," Envy said, stepping far enough into the room to swing the door shut behind him. He looked around. "I see you've decorated the place. What a sentiment."

Edward snorted. "You trying to tell me _I _wrote all this crap? Don't make me laugh."

"Well, it wasn't me. I'm tall enough to reach the ceiling if I did it," Envy said. He saw Edward's enraged face and grinned evilly. "Don't believe me? Fine. I didn't come to convince you."

"Then what _did _you come for?" Edward demanded.

There was a dangerous glint in Envy's eye. "To teach you some respect, of course."

"What? To you?" Edward said derisively. He didn't get another word out, however, for Envy swiftly moved across the room. In one move, Envy had crossed the room and used a roundhouse kick on the side of Edward's head, knocking him on his side. Edward hit hard, causing his head to ring.

"Now that's not very nice," Envy said. "I don't think I liked your tone."

"So sue me," Edward spat.

Envy kicked him so hard in the stomach he went flying, jerked to a stop only by the chain of his metal shackle. He landed on the floor in a heap and instinctively curled inward, protecting his stomach from another blow. He had just managed to wrap an arm around his stomach when Envy grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him into the air, feet swinging freely.

"Now, how about an apology," Envy said.

"Not on your life," Edward ground out.

With no further ado, Envy swung around and slammed Edward into the wall. Edward felt his head crack against the steel, sending his vision into darkness for a moment. When he had regained his sight, he found himself being thrown in the other direction. Again, the chain jerked him to a stop, throwing him harshly to the ground.

Edward didn't move for a moment, stunned. His head and stomach were screaming with pain, and the rest of him wasn't doing so well either. He heard Envy's footsteps coming towards him and wildly tried to come up with a plan. But his brain wasn't working right, yet again. Envy grabbed the front of his shirt again and hoisted him into the air. Edward remained there for a fraction of a second before he was slammed into the wall again, all the air being forced from his lungs. His head complained strongly, and he felt a crawling darkness at the edges of his subconscious.

"Now, do I hear an 'I'm sorry'?" Envy said in a mock kind voice, hooking a hand behind an ear as if he couldn't hear.

Edward wanted to spit in his face, but what was left of his rational mind told him he needed to survive this encounter if he would get a chance to escape. He took a breath, or tried to, his lungs shuddering with the effort. "I'm...sorry..." he managed to wheeze through gritted teeth.

"What? You forgot my name, pipsqueak?" Envy said.

_Damn him._ Edward gasped in another breath. His chest hurt badly, among other things. "I'm...sorry...Envy..." he said. 

"You're forgiven." Envy let go, and Edward fell heavily to the ground. "I'll leave you to admire your writing skills." Before Edward could collect himself, Envy was gone, and the door slammed shut behind him.

_That...bastard..._ Edward realized his thoughts were slowing down. His entire body felt like one dull ache, sharpening painfully in areas like his head and stomach. He could feel some liquid running slowly through his hair and realized it must be blood. He tried to move his hand to wipe it away, but he forgot about the wooden shackles, and they were weighing down his hands with a ridiculous strength.

_Got to...stay conscious..._ He fought off the rising urge to take another nap and attempted to sit up. His body seemed to have decided to mutiny again, for he did little more than squirm in one spot, making his stomach hurt more.

Unwillingly, his eyes again started to traverse the horrible words on the walls, reading them and taking them in. He couldn't believe Envy was trying to say that _he _had written these things! What would be the point? And wouldn't he remember? But as he looked at them, it was a little unnerving how well Envy--or whoever wrote it all down--had copied his handwriting style. It certainly _looked_ like he had written it, and if he weren't one hundred percent certain he hadn't...

Well, he would almost believe he had.

The door opened again in its silent way, and Edward tensed, thinking it was Envy coming to beat him up again. But it was someone different, though her presence was just as unwelcome. Especially when he caught sight of the syringe in her hand.

"Hello, Edward," Lust said.

"Whatever...the hell...that is...you aren't sticking...it in...me," Edward managed to say, glaring at her.

Lust wasn't even smiling in her usual smug way. The expressionless look was almost worse. "You don't have much choice in the matter," she said, approaching.

Edward tried to scoot back, but he was still in so much pain that he didn't get far. Lust knelt down beside him. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be," she said.

"Like you care," he spat.

"You're right; I don't," Lust said. "But I'm sure _you_ care. You can either sit still, and the contents in this syringe will knock you out, or you can struggle, I might miss the exact spot, and you'll spend the next three days in burning, agonizing pain," she informed him.

"What...only three days?" Edward replied, surprised at himself for making a joke at such a time.

Lust looked two seconds away from rolling her eyes. "Don't be a hero, Full Metal," she said, reverting back to the usual way she addressed him. She grabbed his braid and pulled on it, yanking Edward's head back and exposing his neck. Before he could work up the strength to resist, she had inserted the needle into his neck and pumped him full of whatever the syringe contained. Finished, she let go of his hair and stood.

"What did you...do?" Edward demanded. But his question was answered when he felt a familiar blurriness taking over his subconscious.

"If you can't tell, I need to give you more," Lust said, her voice starting to sound as though he were hearing her through water. His eyelids, suddenly heavy, drooped closed. The last thing he heard was Lust's voice saying, "Now be a good boy and go to sleep."

He couldn't do otherwise if he wanted to.

**

* * *

**

**Outside...**

Envy was waiting the second Lust stepped out of Edward's prison and closed the door behind herself. "You give him our present?" he asked, relish ringing in his voice.

Lust held up the empty syringe as a reply. "Excellent," Envy said. "We'll begin the reprogramming tomorrow."

"Envy, this seems like a lot of trouble to go to just for your sick pleasure," Lust stated, crossing her arms. "We could dispose of those military officers ourselves."

Envy spread his hands and shrugged, smirking. "So we could," he agreed, "but this way, we tear them up on the inside as well. Not to mention I am _intensely _looking forward to driving the Full Metal Midget insane."

"When do we make contact?" Lust asked.

Envy held up two fingers. "Two weeks," he said. "Give them time to start thinking he's dead."

_**

* * *

**_

**Day Two**

Envy peered through the tiny window of the solid steel door from time to time, checking on their captive. He was still unmoving. "The brat's still out, huh?" he said, more to himself than to his two associates.

"He probably will be for quite some time to come," Lust commented. She was sitting in a chair, arms crossed, one leg over the other. Gluttony sat on the floor next to her, looking perfectly stupid, a huge finger in his mouth. He was hungry, and he couldn't understand why they wouldn't let him eat Edward.

Envy snorted, and then movement caught his eye. "Oh, there he goes. _Finally_." He gave Lust and Gluttony an evil smile as he opened the door and stepped in. "Be right back."

He closed the door behind himself, taking a look around. The writings on the wall were his own personal touch, something for the pipsqueak to look at in his less lucid moments and wonder about. His stroke of genius caused him to write them all in a nearly perfect replica of Edward's handwriting, put them down where Edward could reach them, and use things like "I," "my," and "me" instead of "you." If he could time it right, using his words and the drugs they were going to inject him with every day, he'd convince the sorry excuse for a human that he _had _written all those things.

Envy moved to where Edward lay in a heap near the wall, satisfactorily noting the bloodstains on the wall from their previous encounter. Blood loss weakened and disoriented humans; this was all working out. Envy crouched down next to Edward as he stirred, obviously in pain. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and Envy rested his arms on his legs, waiting.

Slowly, Edward's golden eyes cracked open, looking bleary. Envy, both tired of and pleased with his lethargic actions, reached out and shook his shoulder, not bothering to be gentle. "Wakey, wakey, pipsqueak," he said in a singsong voice. "Time to talk."

"Go away," Edward mumbled, not seeing him through open eyes. Envy was absolutely delighted. The brat's brain wasn't functioning at a good level. Perfect.

"It's time to talk about those things you wrote on the wall," Envy said.

Edward's eyes shifted slowly, the only movement besides signs of his breathing. "Didn't...write..." he mumbled in a sleepy way.

"Oh, yes you did," Envy said, "didn't you?"

Edward very slightly shook his head, and then winced at moving it. "No..."

"Yep," Envy said. "You did. You wrote all those nasty things about your brother and friends, didn't you?"

This time, Edward didn't respond verbally but shook his head, tired. Envy felt a satisfied grin spreading across his face. He patted Edward on the back, pretending to care. "Edward, you wrote those things, and you know it. Tell me you wrote them."

Edward didn't respond.

Envy resisted the urge to kick a response from Edward. He had to resist for the moment; the reward would definitely be worth it. For now, repetition was the key. He leaned over Edward, checking the injury on the back of his head. It had closed temporarily with clotted blood; more blood matted the back of Edward's head. Smirking, Envy morphed his right hand into a blade, then reached over and split the wound back open. Edward flinched, but Envy ignored it; he wanted the latter as disoriented as possible. He watched with satisfaction as blood began to ooze back out of the wound.

"So," Envy said, settling back on his haunches, "let's talk about those things you wrote again."

**

* * *

**

Lust looked up when the door opened five hours later. Envy walked out, a satisfied smirk on his face. He closed the door behind him. "You ready?" he asked her.

Lust stood up, holding the syringe in her hand. She moved past him and into the room. Edward was lying where she had seen him last. His eyes were open but unfocused, and he seemed to be having a hard time breathing right. Lust knelt next to him and pushed his head to the side, exposing his neck, and he didn't resist or snap at her or anything. She deftly inserted the needle into the side of his neck and pushed the narcotics into his system. He didn't even react.

_I should be just as happy as Envy...this will bring our plans to fruition, not to mention move an obstacle out of the way...but I'm not. I just don't understand._ Lust stood and left quickly, not wanting to be in the same room with Edward any longer.

* * *

**Day Seven**

Over the next few days, the repetition continued. Envy would visit Edward and tell him over and over that he had written those words on the wall, and that he really felt that way. If Edward was ever strong enough to fire off a retort, Envy would beat him up. Then, Lust would come in after Envy left and administer more drugs.

The torturous tradition didn't fail to take its toll on the young alchemist. He was given just enough food and water to survive, and was forced to look at those words whenever he was conscious. He found it harder and harder to ignore them, and doubts started to plague his mind about their author by day four.

Day seven marked a turning point. It was incredibly unfortunate for Edward, but exactly the break Envy had anticipated. He entered the room again just before Edward stirred awake. More bloodstains were on the wall from previous meetings, and Edward now had a bad gash on his leg that refused to close.

"Up and at 'em, pipsqueak," Envy said, crouching by Edward in his usual position. Edward reacted more slowly than usual, and his eyes were clouded over. "Time to talk about the stuff you wrote on the wall again. You wrote it all, didn't you?"

Edward's face looked distressed through the mixture of pain and exhaustion. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "...Me?" he whispered.

Envy's face split into a grin. _Finally! _"Yes, you, pipsqueak. You wrote this, didn't you?"

"I...did...?" Edward said.

"Yes you did," Envy replied. "Say it. You wrote this."

"...I wrote...this."

"Say it again."

"...I...I wrote it."

"Once more."

"I...wrote it."

"Very good," Envy said, pleased. "Remember all the things you wrote? About how your brother hates you, Mr. Flame Man's using you, everyone's tired of your grumpy attitude, all that good stuff?"

"No..." Edward responded, sounding as if he were drifting off.

Envy reached down. "Hey. Wake up." He roughly shook Edward's shoulder, and Edward winced. Envy remembered that that was where he had delivered a particularly nasty hit a day ago. "Don't conk out yet, Shorty. We need to talk about these things some more. Do you know why you wrote them? Huh?"

Edward slowly shook his head.

"You wrote them because you knew you might forget how you felt, and you didn't want that. You wanted to remember how you hated them for the way they treated you."

"No...I don't..."

"Yes you do," Envy insisted sharply. "You _hate _them. You _loathe_ them. They treat you unfairly because of their own stupid opinions, and you suffered for it. Do you know that the military you serve knows where you are, and they haven't come to get you?"

Edward tensed at this, and he seemed to force himself to focus on Envy's face. "Why not?" he demanded, his voice sounding clearer.

Envy leaned in closer, relishing this little exercise. "Roy Mustang himself said that it was your fault you got into this mess, that he thought you were too reckless, and you need to learn a hard lesson about being careful."

"That's not true," Edward insisted.

Envy smacked the back of Edward's head, aiming for the sore spot. Edward cried out and hunched his shoulders. "Stop lying to yourself," Envy said. "You know it's true, that's why you wrote _that_!"

He pointed at one of the sentences, and Edward's pain-filled eyes followed the finger. _Roy Mustang cares about nothing but what I can do for him _greeted his eyes. Edward's jaw clenched, and he let his face rest on the floor, eyes fixed on Envy's toes. "It's not true," he repeated weakly.

"Yes it is."

"No."

"_Yes_ it is."

Edward didn't reply. Envy shifted his eyes to another one of the sentences and smiled evilly. "Now, let's talk about Alphonse Elric."

**

* * *

**

**Day Thirteen**

They hate me...they hate me...they hate me...

These thoughts were what Edward woke up with. He felt so sluggish, and there were so many points on his neck that hurt. He hadn't received a beating in a while, mostly because he had learned to comply with what Envy was saying in order to avoid one. But actually saying those things himself, over and over like Envy demanded, had made them work their way into his nearly defenseless mind and make a home for themselves.

"Rise and shine, Short Stuff," he heard Envy saying. He felt like crying, but he pushed the thoughts away and managed to open his eyes.

"Envy...why?" he found himself asking.

Envy tilted his head slightly. "Why what?"

"Why...do they hate me? I'm not so bad...am I?"

"I guess," Envy replied, "but does it seem like they care? They look for excuses to dislike you, pipsqueak; haven't you remembered that by now?"

But why? What have I done to them? How are my offenses so...terrible?

"I hate them," Edward whispered. "They have no right...to hate me."

"That's the spirit," Envy said. "See? You're starting to remember."

He had said it because he knew Envy would be pleased. Making sure Envy was pleased ensured that he wasn't mercilessly kicked around again. Now that his body had time to heal, he could feel minimal strength returning. Maybe he could get enough strength to sit up again.

"Now, tell me again," Envy was saying. "You hate them?"

"Yes."

"Say you hate them."

"I hate them."

"Say it again."

"I hate them."

"Keep going."

"I hate them. I hate them. I hate them." Edward's mental voice started to say it along with him, and the repetition drummed into his weakened mind.

Envy tilted his head from right to left in tandem with Edward's voice, as if listening to the rhythm of a song he liked. He frowned when Edward stopped, tired. "What, you don't hate them anymore?" he demanded, sounding angry.

_No! Don't hit me! I have to heal! _"Yes I do," Edward forced himself to say, though his throat was now quite sore. 

"Then say so," Envy told him.

"I-I hate them." Edward's voice cracked, but he managed to say it five more times. Envy held up a hand, and Edward stopped, relieved for the rest. "See? You can't even talk. And that's their fault too. If they _cared_, you wouldn't be in this mess."

That Edward wholeheartedly believed.

* * *

**Day 21**

"Eeeed-waaard," a singsong voice said.

Edward didn't open his eyes. He wanted to sleep. His body was slowly getting stronger.

"Get up," the voice snapped. Edward realized it was Envy, and if he didn't rise, he'd get hurt. He struggled to push himself up. His muscles, having gotten used to lying in the same place for so long, were stiff and complained strongly. But he managed to push himself into a sitting position, his back against the wall. He opened his eyes and saw Envy, Lust, and Gluttony standing over him in a semicircle. Envy had his arms crossed, and a smirk on his face.

"We've got a deal for you, pipsqueak," Envy said.

Edward struggled to make his mind clear enough for making deals. His neck was a mass of stinging points, and so was his flesh arm. His injuries were still in the healing process, but they didn't hurt as much. It took him a few moments to realize that someone had bandaged him up and unbraided his hair while he slept. It felt damp. Had his hair been washed?

"We don't think you've been given a fair shake," Envy said. "We'd like to help you get revenge."

From a tiny corner of his mind, the word sparked something he had been thinking about the past few days he'd been lucid enough to think. _Revenge. _He knew what Envy spoke of without even having to ask: Mustang, Alphonse, Hawkeye, and all the others. Their unfair treatment of him. Their scorn, their derision, their _hatred_. Well, he hated them back.

And he wanted to do something about it.

"You'll let me go?" he asked, his voice raspy.

Envy nodded. "We'll help you take revenge in any way you wish," Lust added. "And in return, you'll help us retrieve something from your Headquarters."

A deal. Edward glanced from one to the other. "I want them to suffer for what they did to me," he said.

"And we want our item," Envy said. He leaned forward from the waist. "So, pipsqueak, do we have a deal?"

Edward looked down at his wooden bindings, then back up at Envy. "Take these off and we have a deal," he rasped.

Envy grinned disturbingly. "Excellent."

**

* * *

**

Chizi: Evil Edward! (bumbumbum)  
Zilo: Disturbingly grinning Envy! (bumbumbum)  
Shi: (points at Zilo and Chizi) Psychotic authoresses! (bumbumbum)  
Zilo: Oh, ha, haa.  
Chizi: Come back next time!  
Zilo: Or else! (bumbumbum)


	3. On The Loose

Zilo: You're back!  
Chizi: And we've been threatened! Awesome!  
Zilo: Now, here's the next chapter!

* * *

3: On The Loose

Day 30

After sealing the deal, the Homunculi allowed Edward out of his prison on occasion, for training. Envy knew Edward's muscles would be stiff, and he would need to train a bit before he could be let loose. But they had to keep him under a tight leash still. They had to ensure he felt nothing but hatred for his brother and friends, so he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them. So Envy put the mind-altering drugs into Edward's food and water, and he continually talked about the others while he was retraining Edward's fighting muscles.

This went on, day after day, until Envy was satisfied that any good thoughts about the others were completely wiped from Edward's mind. He had almost managed to convince Edward to kill them, instead of just making them suffer, but Edward seemed intent on that. But that was fine with Envy.

Just fine, indeed.

"You think he's ready yet?" Lust asked at the end of yet another day, when Envy had locked Edward back in his prison.

"Almost," Envy replied, sitting down crosslegged on the floor. "Just a little more time, to ensure the pipsqueak has no more happy thoughts about his friends and brother."

Lust nodded slowly. "And then?"

"We let him loose and wreak destruction on the city, that's what," Envy replied.

And finally, on the one-month mark of Edward's disappearance, they decided he was ready.

* * *

"So they haven't made any headway at all?" Winry said in surprise. 

"Well, they have, but not very much," Al replied. "We have an idea of who took him, but we don't know where they could possibly be. But they've got officers looking for him around the clock, so something's got to turn up soon."

Winry nodded. "Whoever took Edward doesn't know what they're in for," she said optimistically. "I bet you anything he'll show up on his own, with some great story of how he escaped his captor's clutches."

"That would be nice," Alphonse sighed.

Winry looked up at him with a worried frown. They were on their way back to the Elrics' apartment, and she wished she could cheer Alphonse up.

"Colonel Mustang promised to keep me apprised if they have any progress," Alphonse began again. "But I just have this feeling that he knows something he won't tell me. I don't know if it's because he thinks I won't be able to handle it, or..."

"Alphonse, you don't think the colonel's hiding evidence that Edward is _dead_?" Winry said in alarm.

Alphonse waved his hands. "No! No! Well..." He sighed and dropped them. "Not really. I mean, it's been so long, and there hasn't been a word. No ransom demands, no threatening notes, no trades for prisoners. Why would someone kidnap him just to kind of, keep him from us?"

Silence passed between them as they both considered the answer. _Why, indeed? _Winry thought. _If it were someone against State Alchemists, wouldn't they have named their terms or said their self-righteous speech by now? Why the month-long silence?_

"Winry," Al began, "I know we've been over this before, but...do _you _have any doubts that Brother is alive?"

Winry felt her breath catch. "No," she said immediately and firmly. "Edward's too tough. He's alive, Alphonse, and we'll see him again, you'll see."

She was right.

* * *

Colonel Roy Mustang sighed for probably the forty-seventh time that day. He had been looking at the same paper for about an hour. A day's worth of untouched paperwork stood in a neat stack next to his elbow, and for once, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye hadn't bugged him about it. She seemed to understand the pressure he was under.

In the two weeks since Envy's appearance, Roy had only spoken of the encounter to one person: Riza herself. Since then, he couldn't get it out of his head. Had he single-handedly condemned Edward to death? Was there really no hope anymore?

The thoughts plagued Roy as he stared at the words which blurred together into an unintelligible mess.

"Don't blame yourself, sir." Once again, Riza seemed to reading Roy's mind. "There was no guarantee that Homunculus would have held up his end of the bargain. You did the right thing."

Roy sighed and gave her a tired smile, resting his cheek on his knuckles. "Then why doesn't it feel like it?"

"You're just upset, sir. You'll feel better."

"I'll tell you when I'll feel better," Roy said irritably. "When Full Metal is back here safe and sound, and we've brought his kidnappers to justice!"

Riza blinked once, the only sign that his raised voice had affected her. She had always been more levelheaded than he, Roy reflected as he sank back with a sigh.

"Maybe if you get back into your regular routine, you'll feel better," Riza said, indicating that he had procrastinated on the paperwork long enough.

Roy looked down at his papers. "Maybe," he partially conceded.

* * *

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross and Sergeant Denny Bloch weren't used to guarding a bunch of books. But for the past two weeks, they had been assigned by Colonel Mustang to keep watch over the room in which Edward had left most of his research. Alphonse hadn't been there recently, seeing as how he saw no reason to, so they were more often than not by themselves. The occasional aide or officer walked by, but they were always busy and didn't have time to talk.

"I'm bored," Denny sighed.

"I know that Sergeant," Maria replied. The two of them were sitting in chairs on either side of the door.

Denny scratched his head and then re-crossed his arms. "So, do you know why Colonel Mustang asked us to guard Major Elric's study?"

Maria shook her head. "He didn't tell me, he just said to guard it."

Denny nodded and shrugged. "Well, I'm thirsty. Want some coffee?"

Maria glanced over at him. "Well, I guess so. Don't take too long."

"I won't, I won't." Denny braced his hands on his knees as he stood, and wandered down the hallway in search of the elusive coffee. Maria watched him go, then crossed her arms and sighed deeply.

Two weeks of sitting here for hours on end, doing nothing. She wished the colonel had just told her what was going on, so she didn't feel so useless. She wanted to be out in the field, helping to look for Edward. But the tens of officers assigned to do so hadn't turned up anything yet; why did she think she should?

Still, at least she would feel as though she were helping. Just sitting here, for hours and hours each day, waiting for whatever it was that wasn't coming, it just seemed so...pathetic. She almost wished whomever or whatever would show up already, so she could do something.

"I suppose I'm being selfish," Maria said out loud after a few moments of deliberation. "If this is where Colonel Mustang feels I'm most useful, I should accept that." She nodded slowly to herself.

A faint noise caught her ears, and Maria looked up, realizing it was coming from the direction Denny had gone in. Her instincts kicked in, and she reached for her gun as she stood. "Sergeant Bloch?" she called out cautiously.

No response. The sound of a door closing caused her to move forward. "Sergeant?" she tried again, rounding the corner.

She stopped short, her breath frozen. Sergeant Denny Bloch lay face down on the floor, arms extended forward. Two cups lay spilled in front of him, their contents soaking into the carpet. His uniform was ripped on the back, and blood was soaking it. For the briefest of moments Maria stared, then she sprung into action, rushing forward. "Sergeant!" she cried as she hurriedly knelt next to him. "Can you hear me? Wake up, Sergeant!"

There was another sound. Maria's head whipped around, just in time to catch the dimming sunlight, shining through a nearby window, gleam off of something metal. The last thing she remembered was watching it move towards her silently at an incredible speed.

* * *

Roy Mustang wanted to hit someone. Preferably a bad guy. As it was, he forced himself to retain a calm exterior as the doctor rattled off Second Lieutenant Ross' and Sergeant Bloch's injuries.

This was no coincidence, and he knew it. The two officers he had assigned to guard Edward's research put out of commission, and all the research suddenly gone? He knew that this must have something to do with his refusing Envy's deal. In reflection, he decided that he should have looked at the list before tossing it back, so he could at least have known who was on it, who needed to be protected.

Riza, seeing that Roy wasn't paying too much attention, spoke to the doctor for him. "Will they recover?"

"Yes," the doctor confirmed. "The injuries were far from fatal, and in my professional opinion, only inflicted to cause pain."

"So they were being tortured?" Riza asked.

The doctor nodded. "It appears that way."

"Let us know the minute anything changes," Roy said suddenly, jumping back into his role.

"Yes sir," the doctor said.

Roy waited until the doctor had gone back into his patients' room to turn to Riza. "This had become much more serious," he said.

"Yes, sir," Riza agreed. "What should we do?"

"Warn the other military officers that there's yet another threat to their lives," he replied. "And of course, find out if anyone saw who attacked my officers and stole Full Metal's research."

Riza nodded solemnly.

* * *

"Perfect!" Envy crowed. "This is all of the pipsqueak's stuff, all right." He fanned the pages of a book absently. "While our little messmaker gets rid of the rest of our targets, we can dump this crap on some other idiot alchemist."

Lust nodded slowly. "It seems like the plan's going well, so far," she said.

"And it'll _stay_ that way," Envy said emphatically. He glanced over his shoulder at Edward, who was lying down on the floor, either asleep or unconscious. "Tonight we'll let the pipsqueak loose again. Who do you think he should go after this time?"

"I don't care, as long as it's done," Lust said noncommittally.

Envy raised an eyebrow at her. "What's with you? You're really lethargic all of a sudden. You been taking some of the pipsqueak's drugs?"

Lust glared at him. "Shut up."

A wide grin split Envy's face. "I'm just making an observation," he said as he got up and moved over to Edward's form. He looked down at him, smirking. "I think your next target's going to be Second Lieutenant Chain-Smoker. Won't that be fun?"

* * *

**Day 31**

The next day it rained. All day. Soaked military officers reported to Headquarters, all having been caught in the storm. Alphonse wisely stayed inside, and Winry kept him company. The two of them spent their time trying and failing to make small talk. Their thoughts always went back to Edward.

Finally, Winry stated that it was no use for them to avoid the subject, and while they were so stuck on it, they might as well do something useful and see if they could turn up any leads. Though they doubted they would succeed where the military had failed, it did help to pass the time.

The rain slacked up by mid afternoon, and as it tended to evening Alphonse got a call from Colonel Mustang, informing him of last evening's attack and his brother's missing research. He wanted Alphonse to come into the office as soon as possible; they had something to discuss.

So, after the rain had completely stopped, Alphonse and Winry made their way to Headquarters for what would turn out to be a very eventful meeting.

* * *

Alphonse Elric was silent. Roy Mustang expected nothing less after hearing what he had just heard.

Winry finally broke the tense silence. "I don't understand why you would keep that from Alphonse," she said, her hands gripping her knees. "And why tell us now?"

"One, I haven't told anyone else besides Lieutenant Hawkeye in the first place," Roy replied. "And two, I believe it directly connects to the assault on Second Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Bloch."

"We believe that one of the Homunculi were responsible, and did so because of the colonel's refusal to accept their ransom offer," Riza explained more fully.

"You don't think that Brother is...?" Alphonse finally said.

Roy looked directly at him. "To be honest, Alphonse, I can't be sure. I won't raise false hopes."

Alphonse seemed to shrink in his seat next to Winry. She wished she could hug him, but he wouldn't feel it. It wouldn't help.

_As a matter of fact...I wish I could hug Edward,_ Winry thought sadly. _He's still alive, and I'll keep believing that until they show me his body, but he must be so scared. I know he puts up a tough front for Al, but who knows what kind of hell he's been through this past month?_

"What's the next step?" Alphonse asked, trying to sound brave.

"Learning precisely who the culprit is," Roy replied, "and if there's any hope left for Edward."

"He's not dead!" Winry burst out fiercely, her nails digging into her bare knees. "He's tougher than that! You can't just count him out!"

The others in the room looked startled by her outburst. Roy was the first to recover. "We're not, Miss Rockbell," he said in a stern tone, "but we have to keep all possibilities open."

Winry looked down at her lap. _I know you're alive, Edward. Please hold on until we can find you._

Roy seemed to take Winry's silence as agreement and went on. "Now that the Homunculi have Edward's research, their next move will most likely be to get rid of whomever was on that damn list. You could be one of their targets, Alphonse. You know more about them than a lot of us do. So you'll need to be careful from now--"

The door burst open, and everyone's attention flew to the low-ranking officer who had just come barging in, looking flustered. "I'm very sorry to interrupt you, Colonel," she said, breathing hard, "but there's been another attack! And this time it was Second Lieutenant Havoc!"

Roy stood. "_What_?!"

* * *

Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc turned at the sound of the door flying open. "They took away my cigarette," he mumbled weakly.

Roy hurried over, followed closely by Riza. "You're dismissed," he said to the doctor, who wasted no time in getting out. "Havoc, what happened? Did you see who did this?"

Havoc had a dopey look on his face. His forehead and wrists were bandaged. "Something shiny?" he offered.

Roy and Riza exchanged glances. "They must have given him something for the pain," she pointed out.

There was no doubt about that. Roy had been told that Havoc had been hit with some blunt object to stun him, and then his wrists were sliced open. The one responsible seemed to be trying to kill this time. No one had been around to see who did it, and Havoc might have bled to death had an officer not stumbled across him in the hallway a short time after the attack.

Roy summoned the doctor back. "We need him lucid as soon as possible," he ordered.

"Yes sir, but it would be in his best interest to keep him sedated for a while," the doctor reminded the colonel.

Roy sighed heavily, his patience wearing thin. "I _know_ that, doctor, but--"

Riza caught his eye and shook her head.

"...fine. Let me know when we _can _take him off sedatives," Roy snapped. He spun on his heel and left the room, Riza following.

"Sir?" she said as a prompt.

"We need to get to the bottom of this quickly," Roy stated. "Before anyone else gets hurt."

Riza nodded.

* * *

"I'm confused," Alphonse said as a way to break the silence.

"About what?" Winry asked.

Alphonse sighed. "I've never known the Homunculi to be so...well, ineffective, for lack of a better term. When they want to kill someone, they kill them. They don't just leave them bleeding like they _hope _they'll die."

Winry shrugged slightly. "Well, I don't know what to say. Do you think it's someone else?"

"I don't know." For a moment, Alphonse didn't say anything, and Winry sat next to him silently.

Then, another sigh. "Well, we better get back to the apartment," Alphonse said, standing up. "We don't want to get caught in the dark."

"Yeah," Winry agreed.

* * *

**Day 33**

For the next two days, it seemed as if Headquarters was holding its breath. Would one of them turn the corner and suddenly find themselves face-to-face with their doom? It was almost as bad as Scar, except they didn't even feel safe in pairs, since Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Bloch had been attacked together.

Roy Mustang contemplated the sudden sense of chaos that had permeated Headquarters as he stepped out for a "breather" late in the day. Things were getting a little crazy now, he thought as he went for a stroll in the fading light of the sun. His top priority right now was still to find Edward's whereabouts--or, as he reflected grimly, the whereabouts of Edward's remains--but he also needed to find out who this mystery attacker was. _If only I had looked at that list, _he chastised himself for the millionth time. _At least I would know who might be next!_

A slight breeze drifted by, pulling Roy from his dismal thoughts. He sighed and looked up at the sky, which was a mix of yellows and oranges. How could things look so normal when they weren't? Shouldn't it be raining, or something?

His thoughts went back to his little conversation with Riza about going out for some air.

"Sir, you're not going to pretend to step out and make a break for your home again, are you?" she asked sternly.

Roy sighed._ How does she remember these things? I try so hard to put enough time between each attempt, _he thought. Still, it wouldn't kill him to actually go back. Maybe he'd walk for a few more moments, and then go back.

A sudden thought made him stop in his tracks moments later. He was alone, and it was getting darker by the second. Was there a possibility _he _was on the list as well?

_No, that's ridiculous,_ Roy thought, starting off again. _Why would he have given it to me if my name had been on it? And even if it _were_, I can handle our little serial attacker. It would be no sweat. _Sufficiently assured, Roy's walk regained some of the swagger it had been missing the past few weeks.

_Wait...something's not right._ Instinct caused Roy to reached for the pocket containing his precious spark gloves as he continued. He had them in his fist when his eyes spotted a figure standing several yards away, facing him silently. It was too dark to make out who it might be, but Roy's alarms went off all the same. He kept walking as if he didn't care, stopping only when there was about ten feet of space between them.

A stronger breeze came by, fluttering loose hair and clothes. Roy's eyes narrowed, and a self-assured smirk found its way up to his face. "Let me guess. You're the one who's been attacking my subordinates? And you're here for me this time?"

There was no response. The figure's right arm moved ever-so-slightly, and fading sunlight bounced off of a blade in his hand. "I see," Roy said, trying to keep the stranger's eyes--hopefully--on his face, as he pulled his spark gloves out. "Then I suppose I'm going to have to fight for my life? But before you try to slice me into pieces, answer a question, will you?"

Still nothing. Roy inched his right hand into its glove. "What are you after us for? Surely you've got a motive. Care to tell me before we begin?"

No verbal response, but suddenly the figure was rushing towards him. Acting quickly, Roy jammed his hand the rest of the way into the glove, lifted his arm, and snapped. Threads of fire danced towards their intended target, but he dodged them. The fire reflected brightly on the metal of the blade as it swung dangerously close to Roy's head.

Roy ducked the attack, realizing he needed to move away if he would be more effective in incinerating his attacker. He snapped again, and managed to use the flames to back the stranger away. He quickly took several steps back, and frowned when he felt a sudden prick on his nose. Rain? It couldn't be. _Oh, please, don't..._

But it was. Another hit his cheek. If it started coming down, he might actually have a hard time winning. Roy cursed his bad luck as he dodged yet another swipe from the blade. Quickly, he did a sweeping kick and knocked his assailant down. He snapped twice, and flames leaped out to the left and the right, blocking his attacker's escape routes.

Roy saw that his attacker was on the way up, so quickly he snapped, and the flames jumped out. His attacker leaped, flipping over them, but not before Roy caught a flash of gold on the stranger's long, loose hair. It seemed familiar to Roy, but he pushed the thought aside as he sent more fire dancing towards the figure.

_Now that I think about it, his style is familiar too,_ Roy realized. He was in close quarters now, and was just barely managing to duck and weave around every thrust and swipe of the blade. _Who could this be? _His mind was starting to form a sense of dread he didn't understand, but as he snapped again, he realized he was putting a list together.

Gold hair...short in stature...with an unusual blade...

He flinched as the blade caught his cheek, and sent more flames out. The figure dodged them, and Roy realized the rain was starting to come down more steadily. Already his glove was getting damp. He needed to end this, now.

Roy saw the figure rushing towards him and aimed carefully. He snapped again, and more flames jumped out. This time when the figure jumped, he just barely avoided, and the light caught on his face.

Roy felt his breath catch, and there was a weird heaving feeling in his stomach, like he was on a roller coaster. He saw the face but didn't believe it until it was inches away from his again, trying to hit him with the blade. 

"Edward!" he heard himself saying in an aghast tone.

* * *

First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye frowned as she glanced up at the clock. It had been thirty minutes since her superior had left for his supposed "breather" and she was beginning to believe that he had shirked work, once again. She glared at the innocent, yet incredibly large, stack of paperwork on his desk. "_Colonel_."

After a few more minutes, Riza stood and left the office briskly. She was tired of his lethargic ways, and this time she was going to plant her gun's barrel on his temple and fake PMS if need be. He was going to get that paperwork done, and she would see to it.

Riza kept up her brisk pace all the way outside. The sun was almost down, and Riza looked from side to side, trying to decide if he was just playing hooky or had actually gone home. A light rain was coming down, but she didn't mind. "When I find you..."

She trailed off when a flash very briefly lit the lower sky to her left. Riza turned, feeling a sense of familiarity. She saw it again, and her instincts kicked into high gear when she realized what it was. _The attacker. _"What have you gotten yourself into," she said under her breath as she broke into a run.

* * *

Winry frowned at the dim flashes she saw from her window. _I wonder what those are? _she thought as she sipped her hot chocolate absently. "Hey, Al."

"Yes?" Alphonse looked up from his book.

"Come check this out." Alphonse obediently got up and joined Winry at the window. "I keep seeing these flashes of light from over there. It looks like it's something coming from the ground--there! Did you see that one?"

Alphonse nodded. "It looks familiar," he said.

"Really? I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before," Winry said. "You think it's fireworks?"

"Maybe," Alphonse replied. "I don't know why anyone would be using those right now, but it's possible." He and Winry watched for the next one, each guessing what it might be.

* * *

Chizi: Cliffhanger! My hands hurt!  
Zilo: Well, so do mine! So there!  
Chizi: Ice, please, somebody!  
Zilo: (blows on hands) Well, everyone, join us next time if you will!  
Chizi: And please, give us feedback on the fight scene! 


	4. Recovery?

Zilo: Welcome back, guys!  
Chizi: And girls!  
Zilo: Here's the next chapter!  
Chizi: And as a warning...uh...refer to Chapter 1!

* * *

4: Recovery?

Edward was alive. But his eyes were dead. They couldn't look more dead if Edward himself were dead.

That had to be the scariest thing Roy had seen in a while.

For a moment, he could only stare, relieved, dumfounded, angry, scared, and unsure--all at the same time. Edward was alive, and here, but he was on the offensive. Was _he _the one responsible for attacking Roy's subordinates? But why? What was he thinking?

_Snap out of it!_ Roy's mind yelled._ You're in the middle of a fight!_

Blinking, Roy recovered just in time to dodge a swipe of Edward's customary automail blade. It ripped his sleeve, but not his skin, fortunately.

_Talk to him. Try to figure out what's wrong,_ his reasonable side said.

_He's trying to kill you! Incinerate his ass! _his macho side said.

_Run! If you get rained on you're finished! _his wimpy side said.

"Edward!" Roy yelled while dodging. "What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?!"

Edward gave no reply as, once again shrouded in darkness, he continued to hack and slice at his superior. Roy was barely dodging these attacks, and the rapid pace was starting to take its toll on him. Worse, the rain was coming down more now, and he was having to work harder to get a spark. But Edward didn't seem at all fazed and kept attacking at the same pace.

_I've got to catch him off-guard,_ Roy thought. "All right, enough, midget!" he ordered, hoping for a classic blow-up. 

Nothing. Roy was beginning to wonder if this was Edward at all.

"You..."

For the first time, Edward broke the silence himself. His voice was low, raspy, like he hadn't had a drink in a while. That or he was doing it on purpose.

Roy managed to shove Edward away and stood with a few feet between them, trying to catch his breath. "Why are you _doing_ this?" Roy demanded.

"You used me."

Roy blinked.

Edward pointed his blade at Roy, eyes still dead but voice filled with malice. "You made me suffer. _Now you're going to suffer like I did_."

Then, with no further ado, he rushed forward again.

Roy tried to move away, but this time he wasn't fast enough, and the blade caught his arm. Sucking in his breath through gritted teeth, Roy reached up with his other arm and grabbed Edward's automail wrist. Edward tried to break free and nearly tore Roy's arm out of his socket, but he held on, trying to get control of the situation.

"Edward, listen to me!" he yelled.

"LET GO OF ME!" Edward yelled back twice as loudly, his face about two inches away from Roy's.

Roy was so stunned by the harshness of his tone that he almost complied, but caught himself and held on tighter. Edward, now fully outraged, threw a punch and grazed Roy's cheek. Roy grabbed his other wrist, and Edward tugged with all his might.

Something was wrong, seriously wrong. Edward had changed, or he had been changed. He had never looked this hatefully even at Scar or any of his other enemies. "What happened to you?" Roy asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Sir, get out of the way!"

Roy's head snapped up and he saw Riza standing a few feet away, gun leveled at Edward's back. Even in the dark and the rain she would not miss. "No, Lieutenant!" Roy yelled, turning slightly so his back blocked her.

"Sir!" Riza said again, her voice more urgent.

"Don't shoot!" Roy shouted back. "It's Edward!"

Riza started from behind her gun. "What?"

Edward was now thrashing like an animal trying to break free. Roy felt a sharp automail part cut into his hand, and he worked hard to keep either arm from breaking free. "Help me restrain him!" he yelled as he braced his feet against the concrete.

Riza ran over, gun still at the ready. She let go with one hand and helped twist Edward's arm behind his back. He didn't even seem to care, so concerned was he for escaping. Roy, now with added help, managed to get his elbow into Edward's back. "Lieutenant," he grunted, "if you would..."

"Yes sir." Riza flipped her gun over and used the nonbusiness end to crack Edward over the back of the head. Her aim was true, and his struggling ceased as he lost consciousness. Roy nearly collapsed from relief as he slowly lowered Edward to the ground, and himself into a sitting position.

Riza remained standing. "Sir, if I may..." she said, her voice demanding answers.

"If I'm right, it's been Edward all this time," Roy said, letting go of Edward's automail arm to check the cut on his hand.

"But why?"

Roy shook his head. "I don't know. We need to get him back to Headquarters."

"And you're all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Roy examined his various cuts and saw that none of them were too terrible. The rip in his sleeve, however, was a different story. He _hated_ to sew.

* * *

Eleven hours later...

The three Homunculi stood there, watching as the sky lightened. "He's not coming back," Lust surmised.

Envy had a look of rage on his face. "That pipsqueak better not have let himself get caught," he snarled, looking like he wanted to kick something.

"If he doesn't come back, can I eat him?" Gluttony asked Lust.

"No," Envy snapped, answering for her. "There is no way I'm letting all my work go to waste. I'll get the pipsqueak back myself." With that, he turned and stalked back into their hideout.

* * *

Winry jerked awake the next morning, and she blinked sleepily at the wall for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had pulled her from her sleep so abruptly. It came together when she heard Alphonse's excited voice from the next room. _"How is he?!" _he was saying.

There was silence for a moment, and Winry took the time to sit up and stretch a bit. _"I see," _Alphonse said again, sounding a little less excited. _"Can Winry and I still come and see him?"_

_Him who? _Winry wondered, still not fully awake. She rubbed her blue eyes and yawned.

_"Okay, yes...okay...bye."_ There was another silence, and then a knock on the door. _"Winry, are you awake?"_

"Yeah, come on in," Winry invited, though the statement was only half true.

Alphonse opened the door to the guest room and walked in, looking as excited as a suit of armor could. "Winry, we've got to get to Headquarters as soon as possible. Colonel Mustang found Brother last night!"

"_What_?!" Winry exclaimed, now fully awake.

* * *

In the hospital wing...

"Sir, wake up."

Roy Mustang's head lifted as he was roused from his sleep. Riza was leaning over him. "The doctor's here with a report," she told him.

"Oh." Roy uncrossed his arms and stood, taking the time to straighten his messed-up uniform as the doctor approached. "How is he?" he asked, immediately sliding into his superior officer mode.

"Well, we've got him on a sedative, so he should be asleep for a while," the doctor said, looking very worn.

Roy felt his pain. Once Edward had come to he had immediately started fighting. It had taken several officers just to keep him from breaking free, and he had only calmed down once Riza knocked him out again. She was really good at that.

But the doctor was still talking. "It appears he's had very little food and water since his disappearance. He also has several bruised points on his neck and flesh arm, and his system is full of an unusual drug. That seems to be the cause for his current state of mind."

That and whatever his living conditions had been. Roy wanted to kill those Homunculi himself. How dare they do this to Edward?

"Is he still under restraint?" Riza asked.

Roy flinched. "Restraint? He's handcuffed?"

The doctor raised his hands. "Only in a gesture to protect himself and those around him, Colonel," he said hastily. "He's not in his right mind at the moment, and we want to ensure he doesn't cause himself or anyone else harm when he wakes up."

Roy sighed heavily. "Fine. Let me see him."

The doctor led them to Edward's room, and Roy and Riza went in.

Edward was indeed restrained, with a wooden shackle. He lay in a bed, the shackle in his lap. He had been changed out of his clothes into some pajamas which looked too big for him, and apparently had gotten a bath at some point too. There were fresh bandages wrapped around his forehead, neck, and flesh arm down to the wrist, and a tie was wrapped loosely around the ends of his hair. He looked as though he were simply sleeping.

Roy felt his fists clenching as he looked down at the 16-year-old. The Full Metal Alchemist, hero of the people, driven out of his mind and pumped full of drugs. How? Why? Roy wanted answers, but glaring at Edward's restraints weren't giving him any.

He stood there for a moment, just looking at Edward. Then he realized Riza wasn't beside him anymore, and he turned to see her heading for the door. There was some sort of conversation going on outside, and Roy recognized the voice of Alphonse Elric.

Riza had opened the door before he could take a step in that direction, and the voice became clearer. "Lieutenant!" Alphonse was saying. "How's Brother?"

"See for yourself," Riza said, pushing open the door. Alphonse and Winry Rockbell stepped in, and they glanced at Roy for about two seconds before they spotted Edward. Both rushed over and joined Roy at the bedside.

"He's...okay?" Winry managed to say.

"I'm sure he will be physically," Roy found himself saying.

Winry and Alphonse looked up at him. "Then...it's true that Brother was the one attacking military officers?" Alphonse ventured timidly.

Roy sighed. "It would appear that way. Edward's kidnappers seem to have driven your brother crazy, Alphonse."

"But _why_?" Winry demanded, sounding near tears.

"We won't know unless Edward himself is able to tell us," Roy said solemnly.

They all turned back to look at Edward. Roy couldn't help thinking that this reunion was supposed to be a happy occasion.

* * *

Edward remained on sedatives, and consequently, unconscious, for the rest of the day. Alphonse and Winry stayed with him. Roy and Riza eventually had to get back to work, but Roy called the hospital wing frequently, inquiring about Edward's condition. Not much seemed to change, though. 

Night fell, and Alphonse and Winry were practically thrown out of the hospital by one of the doctors. They complained to Mustang about it, saying they wanted to stay with Edward overnight. While they were in the middle of speaking with him, an aide came busting in for the second time, informing them almost hysterically that Edward Elric was on a rampage, trying to make a break for it.

* * *

He had to get out of here. He had to get _out_. 

Men were yelling and trying to restrain him, but Edward kept lashing out with his wooden shackle. It already had several scratches and gouges from where he tried to break it on the wall. Unable to do so, he resorted to using it as a sort of battering ram to knock military officers and hospital aides out of his way.

He barged his way through two men and threw open the door to his room. He knew more of them would be there. He had to escape before they arrived. He couldn't fight like this.

Edward swung his shackle into the stomach of another man trying to stop him and ducked around him. He ran down the hall, hearing the commotion behind him as others tried to catch up to him. Edward threw open a door and ran through, shutting it behind him. He ran down another hall, whipped around a corner, and stopped short.

"Don't move," Colonel Roy Mustang told him sternly, hand raised and fingers poised to snap.

_Dammit!_ Edward turned to go back, but First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye had come up behind him, and now had a gun leveled at him. 

"Stay where you are," Roy said warningly, taking a step forward.

Edward flinched. "_Get away from me_!" he yelled, holding the shackle up threateningly. He sensed movement behind him and, acting quickly, turned and aimed the shackle at whoever was coming up behind him. Riza barely managed to dodge the restraint-turned-weapon, and Edward used the opportunity to run past her.

"Stop!" Roy yelled. Edward had no intention of doing anything of the sort, and he raced for the door he had just come through. But something--Riza's hand--wrapped around his ankle, and his momentum carried him headfirst into the floor. Edward knocked the side of his head on the carpet, stunning him for a moment.

Edward laid there for a moment, trying to catch his breath. His mind went back to the time he had spent in the cell, with the words written over the walls...He shivered, remembering the feelings of pain and loneliness and despair.

He looked up and saw himself in that place again. Two silhouettes stood over him. Edward squeezed his eyes shut.

"Edward?"

Someone touched his shoulder.

"_Don't hit me_!!" Edward scrambled forward, not even seeing where he was going. In his mind's eye he was back in that awful, depressing place, and it was Envy and Lust, back to accost him and beat him up and give him shots. He ran into the door and managed to knock it open. He fell out into the hall.

"_There _you are." Edward felt someone grab him under his arms. Before he could blink, he was lifted into the air and slung over a shoulder. "Do you know how long I've been waiting in disguise, pipsqueak?"

Edward's breath hitched. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or dismayed to hear Envy's voice. He heard the sounds of voices coming closer, and Envy must have heard them as well, for he started off down the hall at breakneck speed.

* * *

Roy Mustang knew something was wrong when he threw open the door and Edward wasn't there. The boy had clearly been disoriented when he crashed through the door, and that had been less than a minute ago. How could he have recovered so quickly? 

He looked around wildly and caught a glimpse of something golden as it disappeared around the corner. "That way," he stated to Riza, running after it. He couldn't let Edward get away, or the Homunculi might get their hands on him again. And that would only do him much more harm.

Roy kept running, trying hard to catch up. He was getting the sinking feeling that someone had to be carrying Edward. There was no way he could be running this fast on his own.

The sound of a door slamming open broke Roy from his thoughts. He sped up, realizing that Edward--and whoever was carrying him--had made it outside. If they got away, there might not be any hope left. _I won't let them take you away again! _Roy vowed fiercely, running at top speed. He blasted through the partially open door and saw a figure in mid-leap, with a familiar golden-haired boy over his shoulder.

"Stop!" Instinctively, Roy snapped. Threads of fire danced through the air at an amazing speed, catching up to the escaping kidnapper in no time. Roy was careful to aim for the figure's legs, and he watched in satisfaction as the left one was incinerated up to the knee. The figure drastically lost momentum and fell back to the ground.

Roy ran to where they had fallen, but he was only halfway there when the figure somehow hopped up. Roy saw Edward lift his head to stare at his superior, before the figure twisted himself around to smirk at Roy. For some reason he didn't seem at all fazed by his roasted leg.

Roy's face darkened when he recognized the sneering figure. "Envy," he spat.

"Colonel," Envy replied with a smirk.

"Put him down, _now_," Roy said.

Envy scoffed. "Not one to mince words, are we, Flame Alchemist?"

"Do it before I burn your other leg," Roy ordered.

Envy casually glanced down. Roy followed his gaze, and to his shock saw the leg...regenerating? Sure enough, it was reappearing, layer by layer. Roy stared until it had completely re-formed, then his head snapped back up to Envy's face.

"What the hell _are _you?" Roy demanded.

"That doesn't really concern you, Flame." Envy raised his free arm, and it morphed into a blade. Roy, sensing he was in danger, snapped his fingers. The flames leaped out and intercepted the blade which was moving at a blinding speed towards the colonel.

I've got to find a way to get him away from Edward.

"What's the matter, Flame?" Envy taunted as his hand regenerated. "Not what you expected?"

Roy gritted his teeth. If he couldn't injure this guy, how could he win this fight? Suddenly he saw movement from behind Envy, but he was careful not to look so as not to tip off the Homunculus.

"Maybe not," he admitted. Then he pulled up a smirk. "But I'm still not backing down."

"Then you're an idiot," Envy commented, unaware a bead was being drawn on his back.

BLAM!

Like the ultimate sharpshooter she was, Riza had managed to sneak up on Envy, carefully aim, and make no noise until she fired. She hit the mark precisely, and the resulting spasm from Envy's shoulder being hit caused him to drop Edward. Roy, seeing that the young alchemist was in the clear, snapped and engulfed the Homunculus in flames.

Riza hurried over to Edward, while keeping her gun trained on the brand-new bonfire that smelled like burning flesh and hair. Her sights switched to Edward, however, when he tried to get up and run. He backed away, slowly, glaring.

Roy joined them as well, coming close enough to hear when Edward snapped, "Why did you help me? You hate me."

"Whoever told you that is a liar," Roy said calmly, the fire in the background edging his features with flickering light.

Edward seemed to hesitate, then recovered. "I don't believe you. I know what I remember."

"You know what someone _made _you remember," Roy snapped, grabbing Edward by the collar and pulling their faces to within inches of one another. "Ever since you were kidnapped those Homunculi have been injecting you with drugs. Drugs, as I'm told, that alter the mind and make it highly suggestible. Sound familiar?"

Again, Edward hesitated. "You're lying," he said, though it wasn't as convincing.

"The fire's dying," Riza suddenly commented.

Roy glanced over at the flames that were slowly extinguishing themselves, and at the pile of ash beneath them. He looked back to Edward. "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it," he said. He reached out with his free hand and unlatched the wooden shackles. He lifted them off and dropped them to the ground, then let go of Edward' shirt. Riza, catching on to his plan, slowly lowered her gun.

"We're not your enemies, Edward," Roy said. "We care about you."

Edward backed away slowly. "I...that's not true," he said.

"Yes it is, Edward," Riza insisted. "The Homunculi purposely turned you against us so you would do their dirty work. Surely there's some part of you that remembers the truth."

"Stop!" Edward yelled, slapping his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.

Roy started, but he plunged ahead. "If you leave, the Homunculi will capture you again, and you'll go back to whatever they were doing to you. Do you really want that?"

Edward didn't reply, but he was starting to shake.

"You better not listen." Roy jumped at the new voice, and Riza whirled, instantly aiming with her firearm. Envy had regenerated while they weren't looking, and now, with a smirk at Riza, he quickly moved around the group and stood behind Edward, partially shielding himself from Riza's bullet-themed wrath.

"See what they're doing, pipsqueak? They're trying to manipulate you again," Envy said, sneering at the two military officers. He crossed his arms and leaned in towards Edward's covered ear. "They think if they can get you on their side they can go back to using you."

"Don't listen to him!" Roy exclaimed urgently. He could only hope that the drugs weren't still in full effect, or they could screw Edward up for life. He could see that the elder Elric was upset.

Wait...that's it.

Without taking his eyes off of the two in front of him, Roy leaned back slightly so he would be closer to Riza's hearing range. "Go get his brother," he said in a low voice. Riza looked surprised, but she nodded, snapped off a salute, and took off.

"Reinforcements won't help you, stupid alchemist," Envy said smugly.

Roy managed to sound just as smug when he replied. "If you're so sure, then stick around."

A rather unpleasant grin spread across Envy's face. "An invitation to kill military officers? I had no idea you were so evil, Flame Alchemist."

_That's what you think, you soulless bastard,_ Roy thought.

* * *

Zilo: Sorry if it ended on a weird note. We were pounding the keys trying to get this update out on time.  
Chizi: Yes, which means we have nothing written after this!  
Zilo: Chizi's got term papers to write for college, so it might be a little late. Just a heads up!  
Chizi: But of course, we still want to hear from you! So don't be shy...  
Zilo/Chizi: Review! 

brought to you by two insane fangirls and a llama. Moo.


	5. A Step In The Right Direction

Zilo: You're back?  
Chizi: Wrong punctuation.  
Zilo: Oh, sorry. You're back!  
Chizi: Forgive us for the lateness! And thanks for sticking it out while we juggled this with our human responsibilities, everyone!  
Zilo: Ew! It sounds like you mean we were going to the can a lot...  
Chizi: Uh, NO?  
Zilo: Anyway, here's the next chapter!  
Chizi: Get your mind out of the toilet, Z-chan.  
Zilo: (sticks out tongue)

* * *

Disclaimer: The both of us love animals and don't think it's cool to choke the life out of them. Envy's actions don't reflect our own ideas!

* * *

5: A Step In The Right Direction

It was now a staring contest. Roy itched to fry Envy again, but with him standing behind Edward, it was too dangerous to the currently very confused and agitated 16-year-old. Roy still had his fingers poised, in case an opportunity presented itself.

"This is a waste of time," Envy suddenly said, still smirking. "As much as I'd love to have you and your comrades lying in your own pools of blood, I have things to do."

"You aren't going to take Edward, if you manage to escape," Roy snapped.

Envy laughed. "Do you honestly think he'd stay with _you_, the colonel who's been manipulating him since he was twelve?"

"I have not been manipulating him," Roy ground out.

"Then what do you call it? Tennis?" Envy sneered.

Roy's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Edward, who still had his eyes closed and his ears covered. But he could sense that the boy was listening. "Edward is not a tool. Edward is my friend. He may have gotten under my skin several times, but I still respect him and what's been trying to do for his brother," Roy angrily said, meaning every word.

"Oh, please, Flame," Envy said. "No _friend_ would put a child into the military and then use him to run around, cleaning up messes and thwarting evil. Do you honestly expect anyone to believe that you don't _enjoy_ the pipsqueak having all his fame, since it can be credited to you, his superior?"

Roy hated the Homunculus. If he said no, then he would be lying, if he were honest. In some ways he did appreciate that Edward's good reputation added to his own, but that wasn't why he liked having the foulmouthed alchemist around.

Envy's eyes narrowed and brows raised at the same time, as if daring the colonel to dispute it.

What do I say? Should I lie and hope I can convince him? Or should I be honest?

"You don't care, do you?"

Roy blinked at Edward, who now had his eyes open, and his fists balled at his sides. "You're just using me because I make you look good."

Damn it all!

"That's not true!"

Roy turned at the new voice and saw that Riza was back. She had not only Alphonse, but Winry Rockbell in tow. A smart move.

Alphonse had made the proclamation, but now Winry was speaking. She looked ready to cry soon. "Edward, you can't believe what that Homunculus is telling you! He's trying to mess you up! You've got to believe the colonel!"

Roy turned back to Edward to see how he reacted to that statement, but the reaction from both Edward and the bastard behind him completely shocked Roy.

Edward was staring at Winry, his fists now trembling. His eyes were wide, as if she were a ghost. Behind him, Envy looked _seriously_ pissed as he glared at Winry.

"W-Winry..." Edward said, his voice missing a lot of the anger it had held when he had talked to everyone else.

Riza and Roy exchanged a glance, and Riza nudged Winry. "Keep talking to him," she said in a low voice.

Winry seemed to have no problem with that. "Edward, we're all your friends. You've got to believe me. None of us want to hurt you, no matter what that--that--" Here she pointed a finger at Envy. "--_thing_ told you!"

The look in Edward's eyes filled Roy with hope. Was it possible, perhaps, that the Homunculi had _forgotten_ to turn Edward against Winry?

He heard the sound of a gun cocking and saw that Riza had somehow managed to sneak by everyone's notice again. She stood a few feet behind Envy, gun pointed directly at him. Roy took the opportunity to get back into the conversation. "Try and leave if you want," he said, "but you aren't getting your hands on Edward again."

Envy scoffed, but he seemed to get that he was in a bit of a pickle. His eyes glinted with barely concealed rage. "You filthy humans," he hissed. Before anyone could blink, he used a high sweeping kick to whack Edward in the head, knocking him onto the ground.

Roy, incensed, snapped his fingers, but Envy jumped over them. Riza fired after him several times, he but he was too fast even for her. He had jumped to the top of a building and disappeared into the night.

Slowly, Roy lowered his fingers, wishing he had been able to barbeque such a monster one last time. He turned to see that Alphonse and Winry had already rushed to Edward's side, kneeling down on either side of him. Alphonse had lifted his brother's head off the ground. Riza was on her way over to them, holding her gun to the side. Roy jogged over and knelt beside Winry, who was holding Edward's flesh hand.

"Edward? Can you hear me?" Winry said tearfully.

"Brother, wake up," Alphonse said.

Edward's eyes fluttered, and he managed to open them. His eyes moved slowly from face to face. Winry had tears threatening to spill. Riza looked sadly concerned. Alphonse's face, of course, was blank, but he still managed to look concerned and upset somehow. Roy wasn't one to display his emotions, but he knew he must look worried.

"Are you okay?" Winry asked.

Edward didn't respond at first. His eyes were clouded with a mix of emotions, including pain, and Roy could see indecision practically eating at him. He struggled to sit up, but when Alphonse moved to help him he shoved his brothers' hands away.

"Brother..." Alphonse said, sounding hurt.

"We need to give him some space," Roy decided. "Everyone back up."

Riza complied with her superior's orders, taking several steps back. Roy backed up as well. Winry hesitated, but she slowly got up and stepped back. Alphonse seemed to really not want to, but Winry gave him a pleading look, and he finally got to his feet and stepped back.

Edward watched them as they moved away, then he slowly got to his knees, and then his feet. He looked at them all in turn as they silently stood, watching him watch them. His hands slowly curled into fists at his sides, but his face held a look of consternation.

The stalemate lasted long enough to unnerve everyone in it except for Edward and Riza. Edward eyed them all one last time, then lowered his head, his bangs shielding his eyes from view. "If...if you want me to believe what you're saying," he finally spoke, "then let me leave."

"What?!" Winry exclaimed. "We can't--"

Roy held up a hand to stop her. He moved to the side.

Winry and Al both looked like they wanted to protest mightily, but they didn't. Edward wasted no time in exiting the circle and then making a break for a side street. He soon disappeared into the darkness.

The second he was gone, Winry whirled on Roy. "Why did you let him go?" she demanded angrily. "He needs to be kept safe! What if those creatures get him!"

"Sir?" Riza added, indicating she was lost on his logic as well.

Roy merely stuffed his hands in his pockets, not allowing his emotions to show. "Wait and see," was all he said.

* * *

I don't understand. I don't understand. Why did they do that? Why?

Edward was huddled up in an alley, trying to sort out his confused emotions. _They're supposed to hate me. Why would they do all of those things? They're not supposed to care! _He rubbed the back of his bowed head, as if he could brush the confusion away.

_"You_ _know what someone_ made _you remember," _Roy had said.

Is it true? Is it possible that I don't really hate them? Did Envy and Lust manufacture memories for me, so I would "do their dirty work"? But that can't be! I remember everything clearly. How could anyone possibly make me remember these things?

No answers came along, no matter how long Edward stayed silent.

_Then...there's only three things I can do. I can go back to Headquarters, try to find the Homunculi and get answers, or just avoid everyone and stay by myself._ He shuddered. None of those options seemed too interesting.

Or...there's one more. I think.

Maybe.

After a few moments, Edward pulled himself out of his ball and stood.

* * *

Lust knew something was up the minute she and Gluttony came across Envy. The scenery had been trashed. Several dead animals lay around. Man-made things such as light poles, benches, and even walls had been demolished. In the midst of it all was Envy himself, sitting crosslegged near a small crater in the asphalt, pieces of street littered all around him, choking the life out of an innocent bird. 

"What happened," Lust sighed.

"I'll tell you what happened!!" Envy roared, flinging the dead bird aside. "Those goddamn filthy humans and their damn stupid...I should've beat the hell out of them when I had the chance--"

"Where's Full Metal?"

"With them!" Envy kicked the remainder of a bench.

Lust crossed her arms and bravely strode over to the Homunculus. "Why don't you stop the hissy fit and explain what happened?"

Envy glared at her. Lust evenly stared back.

Finally Envy seemed to calm down, at least a little. He heaved a sigh and stood. "I thought we'd covered all the bases," he grumbled, "but _apparently _we overlooked one of his damn friends."

"Who?" Lust asked, confused.

"Winry Rockbell. Ring any bells?"

Lust sighed heavily. "Not good. I suppose we could try again--"

"You bet we will." Envy's fists clenched. "I did _not _put all my work into brainwashing the pipsqueak for it go away without a single dead body. We're going to get him again."

"We?"

"Yes, we. You take care of his girlfriend, and I'll get the pipsqueak." A malicious smile spread over Envy's face. "And this time, I'll make _sure_ he loses it."

Gluttony, tired of being left out of the conversation, nudged Lust and nearly knocked her over.

"Oh, and Gluttony," Envy said, "if all goes well, you might just get to eat the Rockbell girl."

"_Really_?" Gluttony looked delighted.

* * *

The next morning...

Silence reigned in the apartment. Alphonse was alone in his room, studying alchemy to get his mind off of the evening's events. Winry was alone in the front room, not doing anything but thinking, curled up on the couch.

After getting over being rather angry with Colonel Mustang for letting Edward go, the two had finally been convinced to go back to the Elrics' apartment. Riza had promised that they would be called if there were any developments.

_I'm sure there will be,_ Winry thought irritably, hugging the life out of a pillow. _They'll call to tell us that Edward, once again under the Homunculi's thumb, has attacked somebody else. Why would Colonel Mustang do something so stupid? If he's out on the streets, anything can happen to him!_

She sighed after a few moments, releasing the pillow from its chokehold. "Maybe I can convince Al to search for Edward with me," she thought aloud, glancing back at the door that led to Alphonse's room. "If he ever comes out."

There was a faint knock on the door. Winry looked up in surprise, not having expected any visitors. She glanced back at Alphonse's door, but there was no indication he'd heard. With a little sigh, Winry got up off the couch, straightened her clothes, and went to the door. She pulled it open, and then gasped.

Standing in front of the door, head bowed, was none other than Edward Elric himself.

"I...I want to talk to you," he said quietly.

Winry stared in shock, but then realized what he had said and snapped out of it. "Of course!" she exclaimed, reaching out to pull him in.

Edward stepped back from her hands, and Winry froze, hurt by his reaction. "No, I...just you. Not _Alphonse_."

Winry did not like the way Edward had said his brother's name, but she supposed that he was still heavily under the influence of Envy's torture. "Well, okay," she said. She grabbed her shoes from beside the door, and had no sooner straightened up than had her wrist grabbed and was pulled away from the door.

"Wh-Where are we going?" she asked.

Edward didn't respond, and Winry managed to put her shoes on as they went. She soon found herself outside and several blocks away from the complex. There, Edward let go of her wrist and sat down on a bench. Winry quickly sat next to him, noticing how he kept his face hidden with his hair.

Nervously, Winry linked her fingers in her lap. "Edward, what did you want to talk about?" she asked softly, wanting to ensure she didn't spook him. This could be the last chance anyone had to break through the walls that he had put up, and she couldn't do anything that might blow it.

Finally he raised his head and looked at her, and his eyes were filled with pain. He looked as though he might have been crying before, and Winry felt her heart twist. "It's just...there's no one else I think I can talk to. I feel like I'm supposed to hate everybody, but I know I'm not. I just...well, I don't know which side I'm supposed to be on, I guess."

"Well, I can tell you that, easy," Winry smiled, trying to be encouraging. Edward didn't return the smile.

"I already know what you're going to say," he said solemnly, "but I don't know if I'll believe you."

Winry started, but she said nothing, seeing that he wasn't finished. "The Homunculi were the ones who beat me up, and did this." He indicated the now slightly dirty bandages still wrapped around his arm and neck. "But I still feel the loathing that everyone at Central has for me. Everyone's telling me I'm supposed to hate the other side. But I don't know!"

"Well," Winry began slowly, "you don't think it's right for the Homunculi to beat you and inject drugs into you, do you?"

Edward's fists clenched in his lap, a strange contrast to Winry's relaxed hands. "No," he ground out.

"And...as much as I may not like the military, they've never done anything like that, have they? None of them have ever laid a hand on you, right?"

"No," Edward agreed. He suddenly couldn't look Winry in the eye anymore.

Winry's eyes softened, and, taking a plunge, she reached out and took his flesh hand with both of hers. Edward flinched, but he didn't pull away. His hand was cold, and for a second she almost wondered if she had picked up the wrong one. "Edward, you trust me, right?" she asked.

There was silence for a moment, and Winry wondered fearfully if she had overstepped the boundaries. But slowly, Edward shifted and looked back up at her. "I...I think so," he said.

Winry smiled in relief. "Then please, listen to me and let me take you back to Headquarters. They're the ones who care about you, just like me and your brother. If you give them a chance, they'll prove it. We all just want to help."

"I don't know," Edward said weakly, sounding as if he were wavering.

"Please. If you don't feel comfortable, I promise I'll stay with you," Winry went on.

Edward looked more fragile than Winry had ever seen him, and it finally dawned on her just how horribly the Homunculi had messed him up. He was afraid to trust anyone because he wasn't sure where his loyalties originally lay. "Please, just try it." She hesitated, not wanting to say what she had thought of next. "If...if it's really not comfortable, then...you can leave. Okay?"

More silence. Winry hoped she looked as encouraging as she was attempting to be.

"...Okay," Edward finally agreed.

Winry's smile grew bigger. "I'm so glad. Come on." She stood, and Edward slowly stood with her. She turned to pull him in the direction of Headquarters, but he stopped her by tugging on his hand. "Winry?" 

"Yeah, Ed?" Winry said, turning back to him.

"You'll...you promise you'll stay?"

"Of course," Winry assured him, hoping she sounded as sincere as she was. "I'll stay 24/7. You'll get sick of me."

And then, to her immense surprise and joy, he actually gave a slight smile back, and some of the life returned to his eyes.

* * *

Zilo: Edward's getting better! AWWWWWWWW!  
Chizi: (sweatdrop) ...  
Zilo: ...  
Chizi: Anyway, now we have nothing left stored up!  
Zilo: But the good news is we should be right on track for the next update!  
Chizi: So we shall see you all next Wednesday or Thursday!  
Zilo: And, be on the lookout from some other story from me sometime soon! 


	6. Winry's Influence

Zilo: Haha, we're here!  
Chizi: Another chapter for another day!  
Zilo: OMG, I just realized we only have a couple of chapters left! How sad!  
Chizi: I know!  
Zilo/Chizi: (hug each other and cry)

* * *

6: Winry's Influence

Winry determinedly pulled Edward down the hall, feeling his hesitation grow with each step. She was almost dragging him now, but she refused to let his hand go. They had come this far, and she knew he must be scared, but if she could just get him to Colonel Mustang's office...

"It's okay, Ed. It's just a little further," Winry assured him. When they had been on their way, she had thought about stopping to get Alphonse, but then decided against it. Edward seemed to still be against his brother, and she didn't want to scare him off. He might have changed his mind if she had insisted on bringing Al along, but she resolved to call him as soon as possible.

Edward seemed to be growing even more reluctant, but for now he was still allowing her to cart him down the hall. Winry ignored the stares they were getting from military officers who were out of the loop. She concentrated all her mental energy on Mustang's office.

Finally, the familiar door appeared, and Winry breathed a sigh of relief. She tugged Edward over to the door and knocked on it.

"_Come in," _Roy Mustang's voice floated out from behind the door. Winry turned the knob and opened the door, but Edward seemed to have reached his limit. He stopped walking.

Winry turned. "It's okay, I promise," she said earnestly.

Edward looked at her, seeming to consider. His grip on her hand tightened, and she took that as an assent and pulled him in.

Roy Mustang had been busily procrastinating over his paperwork, and Riza Hawkeye had been busy threatening him bodily harm with her hand poised above her firearm. Both looked up and froze when they saw who had come in the door.

"Edward!" Roy stood.

"Hold on!" Winry held up her free hand, noting Edward's close proximity to her, and the indecisive glare he was giving to them both. She didn't know if they were going to approach, but she wanted to be safe. "Edward's still unsure about everything. I just barely convinced him to come."

Roy seemed to understand. "I see," he said. He slowly sat back down.

"Come on, Ed." Winry let go of his hands and put them on his shoulders, steering him to the couch in front of Roy's desk. She managed to get him to sit down, then sat next to him.

"Does Alphonse know?" Riza asked.

Winry shook her head. "I was going to call him."

Roy was staring directly at Edward. Edward was glaring at the wall. "Edward," Roy began slowly, "do you still think we hate you?"

Edward didn't answer.

"I think that the Homunculi might come after him again," Winry spoke up. "I was wondering if maybe we should give him some bodyguards or something." Beside her, Edward flinched, and she squeezed his hand encouragingly.

Riza glanced over at Roy. "What do you think, sir?"

"I think it's most likely possible the Homunculi will come back," Roy said, absently studying Edward, "but bodyguards may not be the best plan. However, I do have a suggestion, if Edward is willing to hear me out."

Edward finally looked at him. His gaze shifted over to Winry, and she nodded.

"What?" he asked warily.

* * *

"Winry?" Alphonse called, searching through the apartment. He had been holed up in his room until fifteen minutes ago, when he realized there were no signs of life outside. Thinking that Winry had fallen asleep, he had come out to check on her. But she wasn't there. Her shoes were gone, he noticed. "Where could she have gone?"

The phone rang just then. Alphonse walked over and picked it up, putting it where his ear should be. "Hello?"

"Al, it's Winry. I'm at Headquarters with Ed."

"Ed's with you?" Alphonse exclaimed.

"Yeah. He showed up at the apartment about two hours ago, and he wanted to talk."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Alphonse demanded, feeling a little hurt.

There was a pause. _"Well, Ed's still kind of messed-up right now, Al, and he said he only trusted me."_

Alphonse was silent.

_"Alphonse, it's nothing you did,"_ Winry insisted. _"Colonel Mustang told me he thinks the Homunculi forgot to make Ed hate me, and that's why."_

"Oh," Alphonse said, feeling a little better. "Well, I'm coming down to Headquarters right now. I want to see him."

"Hold on, Al. That might not be a good idea, to see Ed. I just barely got him to come down here. I don't think he wants to talk to you."

Even though he knew his brother wasn't doing it on purpose, Alphonse still felt hurt. "Well...can I come down anyway?"

"Of course, Al. And bring some of his clothes. But, I have to stay with Ed, so I won't be able to meet you."

"That's okay," Al sighed. "I'll see you, um, later."

"Okay. Don't be upset, Al. Ed's safe with the military now, and we're going to help him get out of this mess. He'll be back to normal in no time, you'll see."

"I hope so, Winry."

* * *

Winry sighed heavily as she hung up the phone. Alphonse had sounded so hurt. They both knew that it wasn't Edward's fault that he didn't trust anyone but Winry anymore, but she knew it had to be hard for Al to hear that his own brother wanted nothing to do with him at this point.

"Winry..."

She turned to see Edward standing only a couple feet away. His face was pinched with anger. "I don't want them touching me," he said, pointing over his shoulder at the nurse who had come to change his bandages.

"Okay, Ed," Winry said, patting his shoulder. She walked to the nurse. "Here, I'll take those," she said, holding out her hands for the medical kit. The nurse wasted no time in giving her the kit and making a break for it, slamming the door behind her.

Edward was now being temporarily moved back into the military dorms. A post had been set up outside his door, where two soldiers would stay around the clock. The only window in the room had been barred so no one could sneak in through it. Winry now sat down on the bed pushed underneath the window, med kit in hand, and patted the space next to her. Edward sat down, and Winry began unwinding his old bandages.

As more bandages fell away, Winry felt her stomach turning. Edward's arm and neck were still heavily bruised. It looked as though someone had picked up a pen and repeatedly stabbed him with it. Silently, Winry applied antiseptic and carefully wrapped clean bandages around the bruises.

"Ed," she said softly, unable to stay quiet, "you can't possibly believe that anyone who cared about you would do this to you, do you?"

Edward tensed, and kept his face towards the wall. His fists clenched, hard. Winry closed the med kit and placed her hands on his left fist. "I know you might not want to hear it," she went on, "but no friend does this. No friend would beat you up, and put drugs in you so they could tell you what to think. No friend would kidnap you. No friend would--would kick you in the back of the head!"

Winry's voice was rising, and she felt tears stinging. She wanted so badly to break through to Edward, to make him remember who his real friends were. "They wouldn't use you as a shield in battle, or lock you away somewhere, or tell you to hate people! Edward, you've got to believe me! _Those Homunculi aren't your friends_!"

"Well, _no friend _would use me," Edward suddenly spoke, his voice low and almost dangerous. "Or manipulate me, or treat me like a weapon, or some tool. Or make fun of me or..." His voice broke. "Or leave me to suffer when he knows where I am!"

"Who did that?" Winry demanded. "Do you mean Colonel Mustang? Then that's another lie, because he was the one who was worried the most about you! He beat himself up about letting a possible chance to see you again get away! He had people looking for you every minute of the day!"

"Did he really, or did he just say that?" Edward yelled at the wall. "I stopped believing what that bastard said a long time ago!"

"You don't mean that!" Winry yelled. "I know that you know what you're saying isn't how you feel!" Her tears had broken long ago, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. She wished she had her wrench so she could knock some sense into Edward. "Think about what you're saying! You've talked about not getting along with the colonel, but that doesn't mean he hates you! He thinks of you as his friend--he said so himself!"

Edward was suddenly silent. Winry worked not to break into sobs. "They all do," she went on quietly. "Even--even the ones you attacked..."

He tensed again, hunching his back.

"When--when we were waiting to hear about you last night," Winry began, "Al and I--we went to visit Lieutenants Ross and Havoc and Sergeant Bloch. They're--they're getting better, and they understand now. They were confused before, but now they know what the Homunculi did. They're not even mad at you."

Now he started to shake.

"And then, after we visited, I got to talk to Lieutenant Hawkeye," Winry went on, holding his fist tightly between her hands.

* * *

Flashback...

"Where did Colonel Mustang and Alphonse go?" Winry asked confusedly as she exited Maria Ross's room.

"The colonel went to speak with him privately," Riza replied. She was sitting in one of the chairs pushed against the wall, cleaning the insides of her gun.

Winry nodded uncertainly. "Okay...mind if I sit with you while I wait?"

"Of course not." Riza cleared her gun parts off the seat next to her, and Winry sat down. They stayed there silently for a while, the only sounds those of Riza finishing up the cleaning and putting her gun back together.

"I'm glad everyone's getting better," Winry began.

Riza nodded. "So am I. They're all valuable members of the military."

Winry nodded again. "And...I'm glad they're not holding it against Ed."

Riza sighed. "Fortunately they understand. I know that would be difficult to get."

"Do you think Ed will come back?" Winry asked.

"I don't know." The reassembled gun lay in Riza's lap. "I think Edward is scared. He doesn't know where to turn. And I think that scares Colonel Mustang."

Winry was surprised. "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to scare easily."

"He hides it well," Riza replied. "Unfortunately for him, I know him well enough to know when he's hiding it. He wants to convince Edward to trust him again, and thought that letting him go might help him believe that we're not trying to control him."

"So...it was a trust issue?" Winry said, confused. "I thought it was a bad idea."

"I did too, to be honest. But forcing Edward to stay might have only pushed him further from us," Riza explained. She was silent for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. "Roy really does care about the Elrics," she finally said.

Winry considered. "He must hide that well, too," she said.

"He tries to be professional in most cases. But I know that he wants the old Edward back as much as you and Alphonse, if not more. He'd turn Central on its side with his own strength, if he thought it would help."

"But he's always teasing Edward about his height," Winry pointed out.

Riza nodded. "True. I believe that in most instances Roy would consider it unprofessional to show his devotion to the Elric brothers' safety and health, so he hides it behind a barrage of short jokes." She smiled distantly. "However, he can't hide it from me. I think he's unconsciously taken up the role of surrogate father to them. For all his bluster, he wants them to succeed. He really does."

Winry was surprised at this. No, make that shocked. She would never have guessed, from all the complaining Edward did about "Colonel Bastard" and the few times she'd interacted with the man herself.

Suddenly, Riza seemed to come back to the present, and she picked up her gun and shoved a clip into it. "And so do I," she said firmly, standing up. "I'm going to speak to the aide for a few moments. Goodnight, Winry."

* * *

"Edward, Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye could _never _hate you," Winry said softly. "No one could. Alphonse and I have been thinking about your safety this whole time. Major Armstrong starts sobbing anytime someone mentions your name. We all care about you so much, Edward."

Edward's fist slowly relaxed into a trembling hand, and Winry squeezed it. "I know that this might conflict with...the memories you were given," she said, "but please, try to think about it. The real memories and the real you are still there, Ed, I know it."

"B-but..."

Even Edward's voice was unsteady. He slowly turned to face her, and Winry was surprised to see that he was crying as well. "I just...don't know..." he said.

"Then figure it out," Winry told him. She bravely put an arm around his shoulders. "The real Edward Elric will know the truth."

Edward looked down into his lap. Winry started to wipe her tears away, closing her eyes to do so, and then suddenly found herself snatched into a hug. She opened her eyes wide in surprise as Edward held on tightly to her, but quickly snapped out of it and hugged him back. She didn't know how many times over the years she had hugged Edward, sometimes playfully, sometimes seriously. Usually he had pushed her off. Occasionally he had stiffened up and toughed it out.

But she couldn't even begin to remember the last time _he _had hugged _her_.

It's going to be okay, Ed. We're all here for you.

"We're all here for you," she repeated aloud.

* * *

Alphonse had steeled himself to go to Central, ask about his brother, and not get to see him. As requested, he had brought some of Ed's clothes and toiletries, wondering why he was bringing them. When he got up to Roy Mustang's office, he was briefed on what was going on.

"How long will he stay here?" he asked

"As of right now, indefinitely," Roy replied, looking tired. "We're hoping your friend Miss Rockbell can break through to him at some point."

Al looked down at the pile of stuff in his lap and sighed. This was hard. Usually his brother was the one getting people out of trouble, but this time, he needed help, and he was refusing it.

"So, will I be able to see him anytime soon?" he asked.

"We're not sure," Riza commented. "He doesn't really want to let anyone else near him."

Anyone else. Like his only brother. Alphonse was trying very hard not to feel offense, but it wasn't working too well.

* * *

The two soldiers assigned to guard Edward's room looked up at the approaching figure, but relaxed when they saw it was Winry Rockbell, on her way back. She waved at them as she walked past their post and into Edward's dorm room. Envy thought, concealing a sneer as he closed the door behind himself. He was disguised as Winry at the moment, and was more than ready to get his hands on Edward Elric. So he forgot to add the damn girl to the list. It didn't matter now.

When he was through, Edward would hate Winry Rockbell with every fiber of his being.

* * *

Winry was excited now. When he heard his brother was coming, Edward had actually asked her to go get Alphonse. He wanted to see him. A breakthrough at last!

_I'm so happy,_ Winry thought as she hurried to Colonel Mustang's office. _There's finally hope. Edward's finally getting better._

"Excuse me, perhaps you could help me? I'm looking for Winry."

Winry stopped at the woman's voice and turned. "I'm Winry. What can I--" She froze.

The woman, dressed in a low cut black dress, was smiling at her rather maliciously. Her wavy dark hair was draped over one eye, but the other one glinted at her with evil intent. A strange tattoo adorned her chest.

"Who...are...?"

"Your worst nightmare," the woman replied, lifting her hand. Her fingernails suddenly lengthened into dangerous-looking spears.

In a flash, the woman had rushed forward. Winry gasped, prepared to scream, but she saw something flying towards her and threw herself to the left to avoid it. A sudden pain rose on the side of her neck, and she felt blood as she fell to the ground. Her neck had only been grazed, but the crazy woman was coming at her again, at an unimaginable speed.

Winry scrambled out of the way of the deadly knifelike fingernails, but she wasn't fast enough and felt her ankle receive a glancing cut. She scrambled to her feet and ran down the hall. "Somebody help!" she cried, hoping to run into a military officer.

She ran around a corner, hearing the spears strike the plaster of the wall. _This woman must be a Homunculus! _she thought fearfully. _But why is she after me?_

"You can't run from me." The voice sent chills down Winry's spine as she ran down the hall as fast as she could go.

* * *

"Where's Alphonse?" Edward asked.

"He said he didn't want to see you," Envy as Winry said.

Edward's face darkened. "That's not all," Envy went on, stepping closer. "He said he never wants to see you again. You've hurt him one too many times. And I think he's right."

There was a tense silence. Envy plowed on, enjoying the satisfaction of watching Edward shrink on the bed. "You're a selfish, spoiled jerk, and you only care about yourself. You should never have come back. I don't know why I agreed to help you."

"But--"

"After everything I've done for you!" Envy yelled. "I'm always there if you need to talk. I always fix your automail. And what do you do? You break it! You scratch it and dent it and rust it and--"

"Please stop!" Edward cried, covering his ears.

Envy snatched Edward's hand away and slapped him. "Why? Am I _upsetting _you? Are you _unhappy_? Do you know unhappy the rest of us are putting up with your attitude day after day? You should have stayed with the Homunculi. No one wants you here!"

* * *

Alphonse, Roy Mustang, and Riza Hawkeye were heading down the hall, on their way to Edward's room, when they heard strange noises coming from around the corner. Roy and Riza exchanged glances. "That sounds like a fight," Roy stated.

"A fight?" Alphonse stared at them, and then he turned and hurried down the hall, the two military officers on his heels. He turned the corner, and someone ran right into him.

"Oh I'm sorry," Alphonse said politely as he looked down to help the person up. He froze when he saw Winry sitting on the ground, bleeding from several cuts on her neck, arms, and legs, and one on her ankle. She looked up at him in a panicked way, then whipped her head around to glance behind her. Alphonse looked up as well.

He gasped. "Lust!" The Homunculus stood a few feet away, the fingernails on her right hand extended. Roy and Riza immediately flanked Alphonse, weapons at the ready. "What do you want?" Roy demanded, fingers poised to snap.

Lust smiled eerily at them all. "Me? Why, nothing at all."

However, Alphonse knew her well and figured she was talking to distract them. One of her nails moved in a blur, and Alphonse dived into action. He lunged forward, using his forearms to block the spear that had been directed at Winry's heart.

Instantly Lust sliced the glass out of a convenient window and vaulted out. Riza ran to the window, gun poised, and fired at the quickly retreating figure.

"Winry! Are you okay?" Alphonse asked, checking his friend.

Winry nodded shakily, wiping some streaks of blood from her arms. "I'm all right, but..."

"Was that a Homunculus?" Roy asked.

Alphonse nodded. "And if she's here, then..."

Winry looked at him, seeing where he was going. "You think the other one's here?" she exclaimed, standing up.

"Edward's room," Roy said darkly as Riza rejoined them. "We'd better get there, quick."

They ran down the halls quickly. When they reached the room, the soldiers stood and saluted, doing a double take when they saw Winry. But they were ignored as Winry grabbed the knob and threw the door open.

"Edward!" she yelled as she raced in, the others following.

* * *

"Get out," Envy said, liking how evil Winry Rockbell could sound.

Edward slowly and shakily stood, hands balled into fists. He glared at her, tears in his eyes. "Then you don't care about me either," he growled, sounding angry and hurt.

"I wanted to, but you've made it impossible. Now get out!" Envy yelled, pointing to the window. "Leave and don't come back! Ever!"

Edward flinched at the harsh tone. He turned and faced the window.

"Out! Now!" Envy yelled, laying it on thick.

Slowly, Edward held his hands up, and clapped them together. He placed his palms against the window, disintegrating the glass and the bars. He still seemed hesitant, so Envy moved in for the final blow. "Get out, Edward Elric, or I'll push you! I never want to see you again!" He put his hands on Edward's back to push him out the window.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. "Edward!" a familiar voice cried. Envy realized it was Winry Rockbell, and that she wasn't dead. _Dammit_. Lust was going to get a piece of his mind.

"Envy, leave Brother alone!" Alphonse Elric yelled.

Quickly, before anyone could react, Envy hooked his arm and used his elbow to hit Edward hard in the small of his back, toppling him forwards and out the open space three stories up. Mere seconds later, he heard gunfire and felt bullets rip through his skin.

* * *

"No!!" Winry cried, lunging forward. The Homunculus impersonating her was going to send Edward to his death if she didn't do something!

She heard gunshots and ignored her clone as she--or he--was riddled with bullets. Her one thought was on Edward. She had to reach him. He was falling. He was going to die. He couldn't fall.

Winry felt like she was in slow-motion as she raced to the window, reaching out. Edward was on his way down. She reached down with both hands and caught the ankle of his pants. She kept her grip for about three seconds before they slipped from her fingers.

"_Edward_!" Winry screamed, her hand still out as if she could catch him. He hurtled towards the ground. _No, no, no!_

Without thinking, Winry hurled herself out the window.

* * *

Zilo: Winry's on the edge.  
Chizi: Or something.  
Zilo: Well, it looks like Winry has left us at a cliffhanger!  
Chizi: Since we managed to churn this one out on, expect the next chapter around the same time next week!  
Zilo: Thanks and bye! 


	7. Lifting The Fog

Chizi: Hey all. We're back with the end of the cliffhanger. After this, the story will come to a close.  
Zilo: How sad! This has been such fun to do!  
Chizi: And we'll miss our awesome reviewers!  
Zilo: But nothing lasts forever, so here's the next chapter!

* * *

Previously...

"No!!" Winry cried, lunging forward. The Homunculus impersonating her was going to send Edward to his death if she didn't do something!

She heard gunshots and ignored her clone as she--or he--was riddled with bullets. Her one thought was on Edward. She had to reach him. He was falling. He was going to die. He couldn't fall.

Winry felt like she was in slow-motion as she raced to the window, reaching out. Edward was on his way down. She reached down with both hands and caught the ankle of his pants. She kept her grip for about three seconds before they slipped from her fingers.

"_Edward_!" Winry screamed, her hand still out as if she could catch him. He hurtled towards the ground. _No, no, no!_

Without thinking, Winry hurled herself out the window.

**

* * *

7: Lifting The Fog **

Her thoughts weren't on the people at the window calling her name, or the fact that in less than a minute she'd slam into the ground below, possibly dying. Her only thoughts were on Edward.

Who was about to fall to his death.

Who would die without knowing who really cared about him.

_Who would die without knowing how much she loved him._

Winry didn't know how she caught up to Edward in mid-air, but she did. The wind was whipping his bangs into his face, but what glimpses of his eyes she saw evidenced that he looked...sad. Now angry. Not hateful. Just sad.

"Edward!" she cried over the rushing wind. His eyes snapped to her, and she saw anger flare up in them. She could only imagine what that Homunculus had said to him while impersonating her. She had to do something to convince Edward of the truth before they died...

Winry wrapped her arms around Edward as they sailed to the ground headfirst. At first he resisted, trying to pull himself out of her grasp, but she held on tightly. "Edward, whatever that thing said to you as me isn't true!" she yelled. "You know I care about you, otherwise I would never have bothered to help you!"

"Why should I believe you?" Edward snapped back.

Winry flinched at his tone, but pressed on. "Because I--"

Suddenly, the fall was over. Winry felt something crack the back of her head, then gasped painfully as the rest of her followed. The impact of hitting the street broke them apart. Winry tumbled and rolled a few feet away, coming to a painful stop on her stomach. She thought she saw a figure duck behind a tree, but she wasn't sure.

She could hear people coming. Slowly, painfully, she got up on her hands and knees. Something dribbled into her right eye, making her close it. To add to the cuts from Lust's attack, she now had to deal with a sore thigh and head, but she ignored it all and slowly crawled over to where Edward lay, looking pretty dead.

"Edward..." she said weakly as she reached him. More residual pain was starting to show up, making it incredibly uncomfortable to move. She crawled up to Edward's back and grabbed his shoulder. "Edward..."

"Go away." It was a painful whisper, but it was bad enough to scare Winry. She leaned over him and saw that his forehead was split open. His face was scrunched in pain.

Carefully, Winry rolled him onto his back, resting his head in her lap. She used the hem of her shirt to wipe the blood out of his eyes, hearing pounding footsteps behind her.

Edward cracked one eye open to look up at her. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

He sounded so pitiful that Winry felt tears in her eyes. Before she could stop herself she had leaned over Edward's body as if to shield him from the sun. "Because I love you, you idiot," she said tearfully.

Finally, the footsteps made it.

* * *

Two hours later...

Roy Mustang glared at Envy. Envy stared at Mustang. The only thing keeping the Homunculus from skinning everyone alive were the heavy, freshly-transmuted chains binding his arms and legs very tightly to the chair. His arms were twisted into such a position that even if he did morph them into blades, they would only wave uselessly in the air.

"Fortunately for you, Homunculus, Full Metal and Miss Rockbell survived the fall," Roy began.

Envy shrugged, which sent a stab of pain through his back. The chains were _tight_. "I didn't tell the girl to go diving out the window after the pipsqueak," he said nonchalantly.

Roy glared even harder at him. "You and your associates are responsible for a number of deaths," he said.

"So?" Envy challenged.

The Flame Alchemist's fists clenched. How he yearned to wipe that smirk off Envy's face. After everything he'd done, _especially _to Edward, a good beating seemed like a great idea.

If only the wounds would actually last.

"Take him downstairs," he said to the men pointing rifles at Envy's head. "I'll deal with him later."

"Yes sir!" the men said, putting down their rifles to pick up the whole chair.

But Envy wasn't done. He waited until they had hoisted the chair up high enough so his face was level with Roy's, then he spit directly in Roy's face. Even Riza was startled by his audacity. Roy, seething, reached out in an instant and locked both hands around Envy's neck.

"Sir!" Riza exclaimed, warning bells going off in her head.

There were a few painful seconds as everyone in the room froze, waiting to see if Roy was going to attempt to kill the Homunculus. His face certainly looked like that of someone about to commit murder. But he noticed Envy's satisfied grin, and the sensible part of him said not to give in to the taunting. He managed to let go. "Get him _out_ of here," he said dangerously. The soldiers carrying Envy's chair never moved faster in their lives.

Roy disgustedly wiped the spit off his face. "Sir, are you all right?" Riza asked solemnly from behind him.

"I'll be all right, Lieutenant," he sighed, his anger starting to simmer down a little. "I'm going to go check on Edward."

"Yes sir," Riza said, knowing he probably needed some alone time.

* * *

"Like all narcotics, these simply needed time to work themselves out of Major Elric's system," the doctor reported from his clipboard. "It will probably take a few days for them to be completely flushed out, but for now he should be all right. If he drinks plenty of fluids he'll be fine."

"That's good to know," Roy said wearily, resting an elbow on Edward's bedside. "And Miss Rockbell?"

"Fortunately the fall didn't do as much damage as we originally thought," the doctor said. "She has a mild concussion, and some scrapes and bruises on her legs and back, but nothing's sprained, strained, or broken. She'll most likely be able to leave by tomorrow morning."

Roy nodded, resting his chin in his hand to complete the thinking pose. "Thank you. You're dismissed."

The doctor left the room, leaving Roy and Alphonse to watch over Edward.

"So...Brother's going to stop thinking everyone hates him?" Alphonse ventured timidly.

"Hopefully the feelings will go away with the drugs," Roy sighed.

They both glanced at Edward, who had his head, neck, and arm bandaged up. He looked to be sleeping peacefully. "I'm glad the Homunculi weren't able to get him again," Alphonse said. "They might have messed him up for life." He turned to Roy. "Speaking of which, what are you going to do with Envy, Colonel?"

"I suppose the best course of action would be to treat him like a common criminal," Roy said. "I can think of a lot of people who would like to take him to a lab, but he's far too dangerous for that. Anyone who had committed the crimes he has would most likely be executed."

"I guess, but Homunculi don't die like that. How could you execute him?"

"We'll find a way. He's going to pay."

Alphonse nodded, seeing the conviction in Roy's eyes. The Colonel would find a way.

Suddenly the door opened, and there stood Winry, dressed in hospital gear, her head and legs bandaged. Behind her was a nurse who seemed to be attempting to get her to go back to her room.

"How's Edward?" Winry demanded, completely ignoring the nurse.

"He's okay, Winry," Alphonse hurriedly said, standing up. "The doctor said he needs time for the drugs to pass through his system, and that he'll be okay."

Winry sighed in relief. "I'm glad," she said, smiling tiredly. "Is he still asleep?"

Roy and Alphonse nodded.

"Miss, please go back to your room," the nurse said pathetically. "You're supposed to be resting."

"Don't worry about it," Roy said to her. "Miss Rockbell can stay in here with us."

"But the doctor said--" the nurse started.

"I'm your doctor's superior. If he asks, tell him I said it was all right," Roy said in his now-look-here tone.

The nurse sighed dramatically, but she left. Winry was more than happy to take up a chair between Roy and Alphonse.

* * *

"Mom! Mom!" Edward ran into the house. "Alphonse cut his leg open!"

Trisha turned and stood. "Where is he?" she asked.

Edward pointed out the door, where the faint sound of crying drifted up to them. "He tried to stand up, but he kept falling down. I think he's gonna die!"

"Okay. Come on, let's go." Trisha walked calmly after her frantic son as he led her to the scene of the accident. Alphonse was sitting on the hill, crying, his leg bleeding. Trisha got him to calm down, then carried him back to the house, where she cleaned and bandaged the gash. Then she put him down for a nap.

"So, he's not gonna die?" Edward asked hopefully.

Trisha laughed. "I think Alphonse is going to pull through," she said.

Edward, relieved, hugged his mother.

* * *

_  
It wasn't fair. Edward didn't have a mother to hug anymore. He could only stand there and watch his younger self happily hug his mom. Six-year-old Edward looked so happy and cute, like any six-year-old might. How could he have known that in four years his source of happiness would be taken away?_

_"It's not fair," Edward found himself saying, watching the scene fade away. "I don't have anyone anymore. Now I'm alone."_

_"You know that's not true."_

_Edward whirled to find himself on the hill again. Trisha was standing before him, smiling, her hair pulled over her shoulder as usual._

_"M...Mom?" Edward said in disbelief. "It can't be. You're dead."_

_"Why would you believe that you're alone, my little man?" Trisha said. "You know it's not true. You have Alphonse and Winry."_

_"But..."_

_"But nothing. Your mind's been fogged over with those hateful thoughts that were forcefully injected into it, but you know they aren't true. You know that there are many people that care about you."_

_As she said it, Edward saw the faces of people he knew crossing his mind. Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. Izumi and Sig Curtis. Maria Ross and Denny Bloch, and so many more. All these people that Envy had talked about in that awful room, where he had written those awful words so he wouldn't forget how much they hated him._

_"Those words weren't yours," Trisha spoke again. "You know yourself that you would never think to write things that awful. You were tricked. You were beaten into submission, and hypnotized into believing that no one cared about you. You were told you needed to take revenge on them."_

_"And I did," Edward said, his voice breaking. "I put three of them in the hospital, and I tried to do the same to the Colonel."_

_"But you knew it was wrong," Trisha said. "Something in you would not allow you to kill them. There was a part of you that remembered the truth and held you back from making a fatal mistake."_

_Edward realized that there were tears on his face now, and he could barely look his mother in the eye. She had to be ashamed of him._

_"Don't make that mistake." He looked back up when Trisha put her hands on his shoulders. "The worst thing you could do at this point is assume they won't forgive you and shut yourself off from them. They understand what's been happening to you, Edward, and they want to help you. The best thing you can do is give them that chance."_

_She hugged him, and Edward hugged her back, knowing that when he woke up she would be gone. "I don't want you to leave," he said._

_"I know. I know you and Alphonse miss me," Trisha said. "But I still love you both so much, and I'm proud of what you've done for others. You have to take care of each other, and don't be afraid to let others take care of you."_

_"Are you leaving now?" Edward asked, sensing her slipping away._

_"Yes. I only came to lift the fog your mind's been in. It's time for you to wake up. The people around you are waiting to see the real you again."_

_"Wait!" Edward cried, but she was already gone. His arms dropped uselessly to his sides as the hill faded away._

"Ed?"

Edward wished the dream hadn't ended. He had wanted to say so much to his mother. But he remembered her instructions. His head hurt, and so did his flesh hand. But it wasn't too terrible. He opened his eyes to find Alphonse, Winry, and Roy all at his bedside, looking at him expectantly. Winry was sporting some bandages, he noticed guiltily.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Edward carefully touched his head, wincing at the pain. He sat up, and the others leaned back to give him room. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost midnight," Alphonse said, his voice full of uncertainty. "You've been asleep since yesterday."

Trisha had been right about the fog. Edward could still feel that sense of anger and disgust as he looked at Roy and Alphonse, but it was toned down enough that he could ignore it. "Al," he said, looking directly at his brother, "I'm sorry."

Everyone in the room looked startled, Alphonse most of all. But he recovered. "You are?" he said, sounding almost excited.

Edward managed a smile. "Yeah. I probably scared you. But I think I'm back to normal now."

"That's great!" Alphonse exclaimed.

"That's more than great!" Winry seconded, hugging Edward. He stiffened up a little, his face turning red, but he managed to tough it out. "You're _definitely _back to normal," Winry teased when she let go.

"You had us worried, Full Metal," Roy said, leaning back with a relieved air.

"I know." Edward sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Those feelings were telling him to get up, run. But he wasn't going to. He knew his mother would never lead him astray.

* * *

Silence.

"Hey, you."

The soldier guarding Envy's cell glared through the small window on the heavy steel door. "What?"

"So how do they plan to do it?"

The guard shifted uncomfortable, unnerved by Envys' creepy tone. "Do what?"

"Serve punishment on me. Earlier today I had nine bullets pumped into my skin, and yet here I am."

The guard flinched, then glared. "Be quiet!" he snapped, turning away.

Envy grinned. Messing with this guy's head was fun. He let another few moments pass. "Hey, you."

"What now?" the man demanded irritably.

"Once I was on a train," Envy quipped, "and this little boy was getting on everyone's nerves. He kept running around, messing with people's stuff, and screaming his age--he was five, by the way--to the world. He tugged on my hair, and I stabbed him in the gut. An Equivalent Exchange, wouldn't you agree?"

The guard looked seriously spooked, and he stiffly turned away. Envy couldn't help laughing. This was hilarious.

The door to the room opened, and both the guard's and Envy's attention were turned to the figure that stepped through. The guard gasped and reached for his gun. "You're not supposed to be down--!"

He didn't get to finish, as Lust's deadly fingernails sliced through his chest and throat. The man gagged and gurgled blood as Lust tossed him to the side. She sliced through the steel door in one quick swipe.

"What took you?" Envy asked as she sliced his chains to pieces. He popped both of his shoulders back into position.

"I had to wait for the commotion to die down," Lust commented. "There's a big hubbub in the hospital wing. Apparently Full Metal's making a miraculous recovery."

Just like that, Envy's good mood was gone. "Dammit," he spat. "All that hard work."

"I think it's time to give it up," Lust said.

Envy sighed heavily. He had enjoyed torturing the pipsqueak, but now it seemed the fun was over. "Fine, fine," he said. "Let's get out of here."

Gluttony joined them, looking suspiciously satisfied. The guard's body was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

A teary Major Alex Louis Armstrong burst through the door, practically breaking the wall. "EDWARD ELRIC I HEARD OF YOUR AMAZING RECOVERY AND CAME TO OFFER MY CONGRATULATIONS!" he sobbed, using a hug as an excuse to test the strength of Edward's ribcage.

"Major, please don't crush him. We just got him back," Roy sighed.

"Can't...breathe..." Edward gasped.

Armstrong let go and whipped out a sheet of paper. "Second Lieutenant Havoc wasn't able to come and see you, but he wrote you a note." He took this as an opportunity to rip off his top, pink sparkles appearing around him as he flexed his muscles. "DELIVERING HEARTFELT NOTES IS AN ART THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"

The other people in the room collectively sweatdropped. "Uh, thanks," Edward said, taking the note as Armstrong continued to flex.

"What does it say, Brother?" Alphonse asked.

Edward read it over first before reading it aloud. "'Hey Edward, I heard you finally came back to your senses. Good job. Jean Havoc'." There was a moment's silence as they all pondered the wondrous simplicity of the "heartfelt note".

"How, uh, sweet," Winry tried.

"He is still recovering," Sergeant Denny Bloch pointed out. His arm was in a sling.

Edward smiled down sadly at the note as he folded the paper back up. "I'll have to go visit him soon. I've got to apologize in person," he said firmly.

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross smiled as she patted his shoulder. She looked all right on the surface, besides the bandage on her cheek, but her shoulder and arms were bandaged under her uniform. "You don't need to apologize, Edward. We all understand."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it right," Edward replied. "Even if I was crazy, it was still me who did it."

"You guys better take advantage of this while you can," Winry commented teasingly. "Ed _never _admits when he's wrong."

Roy made a noise of agreement. "Hey!" Edward protested, giving them both a glare.

"At least things can get back to normal now," Alphonse commented to Riza.

"Hmm," was Riza's comment. She observed Winry and Edward arguing, Roy smirking, Denny trying and failing miserably not to laugh, Maria reprimanding him, and Armstrong _still _flexing.

"...As normal as it can get around here," Alphonse amended.

Roy finally intervened in Winry and Edward's argument. "Now now, Full Metal, you shouldn't argue with your girlfriend. She'll only be here a _short _while longer."

Riza and Alphonse exchanged quick glances as Edward sucked in a breath.

"WHOTHEHELLAREYOUCALLINGSOSHORTTHATHECANWALKUNDERADAMNDOORWITHOUTDUCKINGHUH? AND SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! YOU SADISTIC BASTARD!!"

At that point, everyone in Central Headquarters knew that Edward was most definitely back to normal. As for Winry, she could only laugh and hug Edward again, remembering what Riza had said about Roy and his short jokes. Even Roy showed a genuine smile after Edward's anger deflated.

"It's good to have you back, Edward," Roy said.

Edward looked over at Roy, surprised to hear such a warm tone from him. Then, he smiled. "It's good to be back."

And so, to break up the sappiness, someone meowed. Everyone else looked around in confusion, but only Edward glared accusingly at Alphonse, who was suddenly all nervous. "Al..." he said in a warning tone.

"But Brother, it looked so fragile and cute, and it was getting cloudy!" Alphonse protested.

"Al!"

* * *

Zilo: (sobbing) HE'S OKAY NOW!  
Chizi: Well, everyone, it looks like the plot has come to a close. But before we sign off, we'd like to know: would you like to see an epilogue, where Edward goes to get the documents that Envy and Lust stole? Or do you think it should end here?  
Zilo: Let us know, because if we don't get feedback, we're going to do what we want to do, and it might not be what you want to do! 


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